


About Last Night

by Mistymay6886



Series: Magnus Bane, Psychic Detective [10]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Accidental Kissing, Alternate Universe - Psych Fusion, Asexual Character, Asexual Raphael Santiago, Case Fic, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Magnus Bane- psychic Detective, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Series, What Did We Do, wake up together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-06-17 07:30:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 46,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15456345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistymay6886/pseuds/Mistymay6886
Summary: What the Hell happened last night?That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind…Magnus and Alec wake up in bed together…Did they just fall asleep…or was there more?Magnus will be furious if he can remember nearly every detail ofeverything…but can’t remember his first night with Alexander; if that’s the case…SOMEONE is going to pay.(Jace. Jace is going to pay)Izzy wakes up at the apartment with no memory of what happened the night before and a strange phone number written in sparkly purple ink on her hand.Raphael awakens in the bathtub, fully dressed (In Simons’ Clothes) with no idea how he got there or what is going on.Simon was out of town forONEnight…Apparently he cannot leave the other three unsupervised.And finally; what does Jace have to do with all of this(And will the others kill him when they find out?)





	1. Wake up to a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so at this point I don’t even know why I bother putting in these disclaimer type things …It’d be odder for me to have a story that actually _IS_ in my wheelhouse… _Anyways_ …
> 
> This one is inspired by the episode when Shawn, Lassie and Woody woke up with no memories of the night before. The idea came from a suggestion on my very first story. I really loved that episode and I think it’ll be really fun with our cast.
> 
> That being said…This one MIGHT be a bit odd. I’m kinda trying something a bit different, and I really don’t know how it’ll work…but that’s worked pretty well so far.
> 
> There won’t be a flashback at the beginning…rather there will be many throughout the story as they regain their memories of the night before. It might seem a bit jumpy or disconnected…but I think (If I can pull it off how I have it planned) it should be really fun.
> 
> I’m probably gonna do this story the same way I did the last…update each part of each chapter separately (Each one will have at least two, if you read a chapter and it only has one part check back in a day or so and it should be completed- ** _though my schedule on the weekend is usually kinda odd so Saturday and Sunday’s may not have updates.)_** this way I can stick to some kind of schedule and I can get the story up faster (Also I won’t be rushing through the second half in order to post faster) Sorry if this causes any confusion, but it just works so much better for me.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, This is the LAST story before Magnus and Alec actually get together…meaning this is my last chance to tease and fluster them…so I’m gonna do that as much as humanly possible,
> 
> Kay?
> 
> _Okay, enough of me babbling on…_
> 
> _Let’s see how this goes…_

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot of confusion going on...

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

_Mmmm…_

Magnus sighed contently, slowly drifting back to consciousness, though in no hurry to actually do so. Usually he was fairly quick to wake up, but for some reason today he just wasn’t feeling it. He actually felt totally happy to stay just how he was for the foreseeable future. He didn’t know what it was, exactly, wasn’t really coherent enough to even begin thinking it out, but he simply felt totally, completely content; warm, happy and relaxed, like he was exactly where he belonged.

 

He turned slightly, cuddling closer to the warmth next to him in bed. There was a pleased, deep, wonderfully familiar hum, and the very impressive arm around him tugged him in closer. The hand resting lightly on Magnus’s lower back began moving in slow, soothing circles.

 

Magnus sighed again, slipping his arms around Alexander, pulling him in closer, nuzzling happily against his neck.

 

_Ah…he must actually still be asleep…_

_That was okay…_

_He loved this dream._

 

He nuzzled closer, pressing a few light kisses to Alexander’s neck, drawing out a delightfully soft, warm gasp that had Magnus’s heartbeat speeding up.

 

Alec shifted, lightly kissing along Magnus’s jaw, before finding his way to his lips, tugging him into a wonderfully slow, deep, completely overwhelming kiss that had Magnus breathless, dizzy and desperate in a matter of seconds. Magnus gave a slight, breathless whimper, tugging him closer, eagerly deepening the kiss. Alec made a pleased, enthusiastic sound that was nearly a growl, leaving Magnus’s head spinning.

 

_God…it never felt this good, this real_

 Alexander reaches up, carding his fingers through Magnus’s hair. The arm around Magnus tightened somewhat, his hand drifting lower, brushing lightly, almost teasingly, against the top of his pajama pants…

 

_Huh…that was odd…why was he wearing those in his dream?_

That wasn’t the only odd thing…

 

 It was far more vivid then it ever had been, so much more real. It seemed like he could really feel Alexander; the strength in the arm wrapped around him, his hot breath against his skin, the way it caught every now and then, the heat from his body, could smell his sent…though it was somewhat different.

 

He didn’t have his cologne, he realized. It was usually faint, but almost always there. Alec smelled clean and fresh, like he’d just showered…

 

_Huh…_

_Why did he smell like_ **_Magnus’s_ ** _bath products?_

….

…

..

.

_Oh crap…_

Magnus freezes, pulling back slightly, opening his eyes, reality snapping into jarring focus. He gasps in shock. Then again when Alexander, _**very**_ **_real_** , _not a dream_ Alexander, begins kissing down his neck, hand on his back urging him closer, drifting lower still.

 

_Wow…his imagination was_ **_nothing_ ** _compared to the real thing…_

He moaned, sliding one hand up Alexander’s back, into his hair, tugging him closer, the other grasping rather desperately at his shoulder. Alec groaned, shifting Magnus onto his back, leaning in for another deep kiss. Magnus whimpered again, eagerly pulling him down on top of him. He groaned, arching closer, tugging at Alec’s hair, nipping lightly at his lower lip before going in for another hungry kiss.

 

_The reality was so much better than any dream…_

Alec broke the kiss, gasping slightly, beginning to kiss his way down Magnus’s neck and a bit lower, slowly starting down his chest. He hummed happily against his skin, causing Magnus to moan, tugging him closer. Magnus opened his eyes, gazing over Alexander; He still had his eyes closed, a slight, dreamy smile playing on his lips in between kisses. He looked totally content…like he was caught up in a dream.

 

Magnus froze…

 

Reality crashing in for the second time this morning.

 

_Alexander didn’t know what was happening._

 

He thought he was dreaming. Magnus needed to stop this right now, before it went any farther…while he was still level headed enough to actually be able to stop it.

 

He took a deep breath, catching Alec’s shoulder, stilling him. Alec groaned faintly, trying to continue.

 

“A-Alexander...sweetheart, you need to wake up.”

 

“Hmm…” He murmured sleepily, brow furrowing a bit, still not opening his eyes, nuzzling closer with a soft, happy sigh, settling in, resting his head on Magnus’s chest.

 

Magnus couldn’t quite contain a soft sigh…he brought his hand up, lightly running his fingers through Alexander’s hair. Alec gave a warm, soft smile, tightening his hold on Magnus.

 

They needed to figure out what was going on, as Magnus suddenly realized he had no idea how they’d ended up like this ( _and he sure as hell would remember going to bed with_ _**Alexander)**_.

 

They needed to get up and figure out what happened…no matter how wonderful it felt having Alexander wrapped around him, how much he’d rather just stay exactly like this for as long as possible.

 

_Alexander didn’t know what was going on…it wasn’t right._

Alec sighed contentedly, nuzzling closer, pressing a soft, sleepy kiss to Magnus’s chest, right above his heart.

 

Magnus fought off a groan.

 

_Damn morality…_

Magnus squeezed his shoulder, shaking it lightly.

 

“Sweetheart...” Magnus said softly

 

“You need to wake up, darling.”

 

“Hmm…” he turned questioningly, slowly blinking his eyes open, still looking rather dazed.

 

He gave a wonderfully soft, dreamy smile, one hand trailing lazily up Magnus’s side.

 

“Hmmm…morning beautiful.” he murmured softly

 

Magnus felt his heartbeat skyrocket.

 

_Wow…okay…can he just wake up to that, like, every morning? Please?_

“A-Alexander…darling? D-do you remember what happened last night?” he asked softly

 

Alec looked slightly confused by the question, like he was still fuzzy and half asleep. Magnus remembered how long it took him to realize it was real…how long it took him to fully wake up. That wasn’t good. He tried thinking back again, but was drawing a total blank. It was kind of worrying him.

 

He reached over, catching Alec’s hand, stilling the movement, it was far too distracting. He took his hand, interlacing their fingers, squeezing slightly.

 

“Sweetheart, this is real, you are not dreaming…”

 

Alec looked bewildered; Magnus squeezed his hand again, harder this time, really trying to get the reality of the situation through to Alec. He froze, eyes widening. He pulled back, setting up quickly, disentangling himself from Magnus, scooting across the bed, glancing around the room, the truth of the situation finally settling in.

 

“I-I…w-what’s…I don’t…” he shook his head slightly, glancing around again, before looking back at Magnus.

 

Magnus sighed…

 

Alec looked worried, confused, _extremely_ self conscious, and guilty, as he seemed to realize exactly what he’d been doing. Magnus slid closer to him, almost hesitantly taking Alec’s hand once more.

 

“Sweetheart, breathe…and please stop looking so guilty.”

 

“But Magnus I-”

 

“Thought you were dreaming…I thought the same thing when I woke up…it’s okay, sweetheart.” he said reassuringly, squeezing his hand, subconsciously pulling him in closer.

 

Alec followed without hesitation, settling in nearly against him. He shook his head in confusion.

 

“Magnus, what happened last night? I…I don’t remember.” He said softly, apologetically 

 

Magnus shook his head as well, taking a deep breath.

 

“Sweetheart…I don’t either.”

 

Alec startled at that,

 

“ _What!_ Y-you…but, the whole eidetic memory thing? You remember **_everything_** …”

 

He shrugged self-consciously

 

“Yes…well…apparently it doesn’t work if I black out.”

 

“You…?”

 

He shrugged again, nodding faintly,

 

“Are…are you okay? How do you feel?” Alec asked, leaning closer, brushing his hand against his cheek, tilting his head up somewhat so he could look in his eyes, worriedly checking everything over.

 

Magnus gave a soft almost laugh, reaching up, resting his hand over Alec’s, he couldn’t help leaning into the touch a bit, just for a moment.

 

“Darling…I believe you did as well, you know as little as I do. I think someone may have slipped us something. How are you feeling?”

 

Alec thought for a moment, then shook his head,

 

“I don’t know…fine, I guess…a little fuzzy, but other than that okay.”

 

Magnus nodded,

 

“Well, at least there are no lingering affects…I suppose that’s something.”

 

Alec inhaled sharply, eyes widening,

 

“W-wait…did we…?” he stammered, trailing off, blushing,

 

Magnus shook his head,

 

“No…I don’t believe we did.”

 

Alec shook his head somewhat frantically,

 

“B-but you don’t remember…how can you be sure?”

 

Magnus shrugged, blushing faintly,

 

“Well… first off, if we did there would be some kind of evidence; there is none, so that seems to prove it.”

 

Alec blushed brightly, but nodded, relaxing slightly, tilting his head, thinking.

 

“You said first…what else?”

 

Magnus sighed,

 

“Well, we are both dressed…for the most part in any case…if we had we wouldn’t be.” Alec nodded again, relaxing more, before suddenly stilling.

 

He hesitantly pulls the covers back, glancing at himself in confusion, before looking back at Magnus, even more alarmed.

 

“Umm…These aren’t my pants…”

 

Magnus glances over, blushing brighter still.

 

_Okay… that…that’s…umm…_

“Uh…t-those are mine.”

 

Alec startled again,

 

_“Why am I wearing your pants?!”_

 

“I don’t know! I remember as much as you!”

 

“Well…what does this mean? Did we?”

 

“No! I told you, _**we didn’t**_ ** _!”_**

 

“ _But you don’t know!_ Not for sure!”

 

“We didn’t.”

 

“But I’m-”

 

“ _ **I know**_ … _okay_ , I don’t know…maybe you put them on after you showered,”

 

_“When did I shower?!”_

 

“Okay, once AGAIN; I know as much as you right now.”

 

“But yo-”

 

“You don’t smell like your cologne and shampoo, you smell like _my_ shampoo and bodywash.”

 

_Which was just_ **_unfairly_ ** _distracting..._

“Okay, and you are so sure we didn’t because…?”

 

“Like I said we’re both dressed.”

 

_“We could have dressed after, to go to bed!”_

 

“No we couldn’t.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because.”

 

_“Because why?”_

 

“ _Because I don’t sleep in anything!_ ”

 

“Well t-that…umm…t-tha…” he trailed off, blushing brilliantly

 

Despite the situation, Magnus couldn’t contain a faint chuckle at his reaction,

 

_He was so adorable when he was flustered_

Magnus sighed, shaking his head, glancing over at Alec, tugging lightly at his hand, until he looked up.

 

“Sweetheart, I don’t know what happened last night. However I cannot believe that I would have such bad luck as to remember everything about, well, _**everything**_ , but not remember _that_ , okay?”

 

Alec nodded faintly, settling in closer.

 

“We really need to figure this out,”

 

Magnus nodded in agreement.

 

_They really did…and one thing was for damn sure…If someone slipped them something and it caused him to miss his first night with Alexander, they were going to pay…_

 

_He’d make **Raphael’s** revenge schemes pale in comparison…_

 

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

_Ugh…_

 

Raphael groaned faintly, shifting a bit trying to get comfortable…it was no use though. He had a crick in his neck, he felt like he was laying at a really weird angle. He tried to move a bit more, seeing if he could find a more comfortable position, but something just wasn’t right.

_Where was his pillow? Why was it so cold? And why was his bed so hard?_

 

He felt really fuzzy, like he was having trouble waking up, he shifted again, trying to crack his eyes open.

 

His vision was kind of fuzzy, he blinked a few times; still it took a minute or two for things to adjust, when it did it made no sense whatsoever.

 

_That wasn’t his bedroom ceiling…_

 

Well…t-that kind of made a bit more sense as to why he couldn’t get comfortable. Though it did raise just a few more questions. Like why the hell was he waking up in the bathtub? The empty bathtub… and fully dressed?

 

_A lot of questions…_

 

He glanced over to the side, looking around trying to get more clues, as well as his bearings and startled slightly, before relaxing. Simon was standing there, next to the tub, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, looking just as baffled as Raphael felt.

 

He tilted his head slightly in confusion,

 

“Uhh…hello, amore? Aren’t you supposed to be out of town till 10 on Sunday morning?” Raphael asked curiously

 

Simon’s eyes widened slightly,

 

“Uh…Raph…it IS Sunday, it’s noon…you were going to pick me up, but you didn’t show. I couldn’t get a hold of you. I tried Magnus and then Alec, but same thing, so I just called for an Uber.”

 

Raphael startled slightly, setting up, then flinching a bit from the twinge in his neck.

 

“W-what? I…Sorry, you must have been so worried.”

 

Simon gave a slight laugh, shaking his head,

 

“It’s okay…guess you must of had quite an interesting Saturday, huh? I know I told you not to sulk the entire time I was gone, but I didn’t think you’d actually celebrate.” he teased lightly

 

Raphael thought for a moment…but shook his head, faintly

 

“I-I don’t remember…” he said hesitantly

 

Simon sobered instantly,

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I don’t remember anything from yesterday.” He said shaking his head again

 

Simon moved closer, perching on the edge of the tub. He reached over, brushing his hair back, leaning in, looking him over, concerned.

 

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

 

“I-I’m not…I’m not sure. I remember taking you to the airport, dropping you off, and a bit here and there from Friday, but after that…I-I really don’t know.”

 

“Well, how do you feel?”

 

He thought for a minute, then shrugged

 

“Not too bad…kinda fuzzy headed, and my neck is a bit sore, but I think that’s from spending the night in the bathtub, which I am really confused by…when you came in did you see anything else odd?” he asked, glancing around once more.

 

Simon nodded, somewhat relieved, thinking over everything else.

 

“Umm…well, I was kind of worried since I couldn’t get a hold of any of you, I glanced in and saw someone in Magnus’s bed, I’d assume it’s him. I was going to go over to Alec’s after I came here just to be sure. I came in your room to check and your bed was empty, but I noticed the bathroom door was open and glanced in here, and then I found you.”

 

He nodded faintly, tilting his head.

 

“Anything else odd?”

 

Simon nodded,

 

“Yeah…the place is a bit of a mess. There’s kind of a lot of stuff left out in the kitchen and a pile of blankets on the couch…and more on the loveseat and lounge… and a few over the dining room table. It kinda looks like someone tried to build a blanket fort, but gave up. There’s a couple empty bottles on the coffee table and a few odds and ends…

 

Also? You’re wearing my clothes…” he trailed off, looking him over, trying to fight off a slight giggle in spite of the situation.

 

“I Am?” Raphael asked, shocked looking down at himself,

 

**_How the hell did he miss that?_ **

****

He’s wearing a bright green shirt with some Star Wars thing and ‘Come to the Dork Side, We have cookies’ written on it, along with a pair of Simons Pajama pants that are purple and decorated with little yodas…

 

“Seriously? What happened last night?”

 

Raphael glanced back down at himself, taking in the outfit one more time, before looking around the bathroom, glancing back at Simon, shaking his head slowly.

 

“I don’t know if I want to know…” he muttered

 

Simon chuckled, reaching over clasping his hand to help him up. Raphael stood up somewhat shakily, clambering out of the tub; Simon slipped his arm around him, steadying him just in case.

_Well…he supposed there was an upside to this after all_

 

Raphael looped one arm around Simon, the other one reaching up, brushing his hair back, tugging him in for a soft kiss. Simon hummed happily winding his other arm around Raphael’s waist, tugging him a bit closer.

 

“Welcome home, amore.” Raphael murmured

 

He smiled warmly, blushing faintly,

 

“It’s good to be home.” he said, softly leaning forward, giving him one more quick kiss.

 

“Now, why don’t we get moving and see if we can find out what happened yesterday?” he suggested, sliding his hand down Raphael’s arm, interlacing their fingers.

 

Raphael nodded as they moved out into the living room.

 

“Yeah, because this is…” he trailed off, looking around the apartment in astonishment

 

“Wow…you were not kidding…I didn’t think we even had this many blankets.” he shook his head, looking around in confusion. He made his way around the living room, looking at the piles of blankets and linens, totally baffled.

 

There’s no way they bought some of these, he thought, absently brushing his fingers over a dark blue comforter. Simon slipped up beside him, looking over them a bit closer, shaking his head.

 

“Yeah…these really don’t look like something you or Magnus would pick out, they almost seem like-

 

Alec!?”

_Well that didn’t make sense…why would they have…_

 

Raphael glanced over at him in confusion before following his line of sight over towards Magnus’s bedroom.

_Oh…_

 

“Uh…h-hey Alec, Magnus...Morning…” Simon offered awkwardly

 

Raphael just kind of stared in confusion…that seemed to be the theme of the day.

 

He didn’t really know what to say,

 

_What’s the standard etiquette when your two best friends, who have been flirting from the moment they met and for nearly a year, actually FINALLY figure it out and you just wander in on them the next morning?_

_Do you address it? Ignore it? Ask them what they want for breakfast?_

 

_He had a LOT of questions this morning_

Magnus and Alec were standing at the door to his room, looking like deer caught in the headlights. They’d both clearly just woke up, both blurry eyed, hair a mess, no shirts, and both wearing pairs of Magnus’s satin pajama pants. Magnus’s were his favorite purple ones, Alec had a pair that where a deep wine red.

 

“Umm…So…Simon’s back” he offered, vaguely gesturing towards his boyfriend. Said boyfriend just kind of gave a bit of an awkward wave, still staring somewhat wide-eyed.

_Yeah…he was going with ignore…seems the most practical._

 

Magnus glanced over at him curiously,

 

“I thought you did not get back until Sunday morning?”

 

Simon’s eyes widened even more so,

 

“Magnus…are you alright?

 

It Is Sunday, it’s noon, my plane got in two hours ago and I couldn’t get a hold of any of you.”

 

He paused shaking his head, glancing at Magnus and Alec’s surprised expressions before turning back to Raphael,

 

“So…I take it none of you remember yesterday?” he asked glancing at the others,

 

They all shook their heads. Raphael caught a faint worried glance between Magnus and Alec.

_Oh…this…this really wasn’t good_

 

“We really need to figure this out.” Simon declared glancing once more from his boyfriend back to his two best friends.

 

“Yeah…we really do.”

 

They all startle at the new voice, looking over towards the dining room, near the table…Well, more accurately, as one of the blankets draped over it was pulled aside, from under the table.  

_“Izzy!?”_

 

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I started writing this yesterday, but I kept getting distracted…rereading it
> 
>  I’m never too sure about writing more ‘intimate’ scenes…I have, like zero practice at that, and they tend to sound really cheesy to me, which I want to avoid at all cost.
> 
> I really do like how it turned out though.
> 
> _Just FYI_
> 
> The first 3 scenes (the two for ch.1 and the 1st one in ch.2) kind of happen simultaneously, the first is Magnus and Alec waking up, next we have Raphael, then Izzy. Hope this isn’t too confusing, but it was the only way I could do it. Also, I am going to TRY to keep this one somewhat short (‘short’ for me being close to 30k words) because they’re getting really long and I am truly worried exactly how long the next story will turn out as I have so many ideas for it, it’s not even funny.
> 
> * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -
> 
> Here’s the second part as well…
> 
> It’s really just sit up and a few more clues to look into (Like the blankets, and why is Raphael wearing that, and did he actually go out somewhere like that?)
> 
> _Anyways,_
> 
> _What do you guys think so far?_
> 
>  
> 
>  


	2. I’ve Got Your Number (Written On The Palm Of My Hand)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izzy wakes up under a table, she is also not alone _(No, it’s nothing like that, don’t worry)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_ Notes: _ **
> 
> Okay, here’s the first half of this chapter, we’re going to see Izzy’s perspective. This should be fun, I really love Izzy.
> 
> Lastly? As we are going to have a FEW ‘Other’ scenes I’m gonna put who it is to keep it straight, _Probably the only straight thing IN my stories **(Oh come one, I couldn’t pass that up)**_
> 
> **_So…the part with Alec? Kinda went a different way then I was planning. I was going to get them trying to find out what happened, but Alec distracted me by thinking about waking up in bed with Magnus, and I couldn’t just NOT write that, so basically this scene starts where he sees Izzy, then goes back to him waking up, then the beginning of the NEXT chapter will actually pick up after Izzy’s scene._ **
> 
> **_Okay?_ **
> 
> **_Kay_ **
> 
> **_(What? I said it might be kinda jumpy...)_ **

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Other-Other-Other-Other-Other

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

##  _ Izzy: _

_Hmmm…_

Izzy stretches languidly, rolling over, cuddling into her covers. She shifts, pulling her pillow closer, wrapping her arms around it, and settling in. It was Saturday; she had the day off, and was in no hurry to get moving anytime soon. She nestled in further, vaguely contemplating spending the entire day like this. It usually wasn’t that hard for her to wake up, she really was a morning person; her brothers would say otherwise, but they lied.

 

They just had a tendency to be extremely annoying before she had her coffee.

 

_Everything they did in the mornings was so damn loud; talking, laughing, griping, bragging about their latest conquest (Jace), stomping around, clanging pots and pans…breathing,_

 

Then they’d get all defensive when she’d finally have enough and call on it.

 

_Whatever, she knew they did it on purpose._

 

That was why she was happy to have her own place, it cut down a lot on the irritants so early, allowing her to start the day like the cheerful, pleasant morning person she was.

 

 _“Mmmm”_ She murmured sleepily, cuddling closer to the pillow.

 

_“Meow…”_

She jumped slightly at the very close sound. Blinking her eyes open, she startles at bright glittering green eyes not an inch away. She gasped, pulling back slightly, momentarily disoriented. She blinked a few more times.

 

The cat blinked back.

 

_“Meow”_

It trilled again, before leaning forward and licking her nose. She gave a faint, surprised giggle, lifting her hand up, running it through the cat’s long, soft black fur. It leaned into the touch, happily arching against her hand.

 

She shifted onto her side. The cat moved closer, curling up against her. Izzy smiled, petting the cat, scratching under its neck. It meowed happily, purring loudly. Izzy giggled again as the cat rolled over, she rubbed along its belly, it grabbed at her hand, playfully biting at it.

 

She froze, glancing at her hand,

 

_Well, that was odd;_

 

On her palm there was a phone number written in glittery purple ink. The writing was oddly cute; it was kind of loopy and swirly, with a little heart next to it. She turned her arm in confusion.

 

_Oh my god, did she get a freaking tattoo?!_

She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was actually done in pen, though she was almost regretful, as it really was quite beautiful. A fantastically detailed flower was encircled with a multicolored ribbon, a few butterflies and shooting stars around it along with a scattering of odd symbols that she didn’t know, but where really quite beautiful.

 

_Huh…well, that’s different._

**_“Meow”_** the cat called louder, rubbing against her, demanding attention.

 

She laughed slightly, reaching back over.

“Well, hey there,” she said softly.

 

_This was odd…she didn’t have a cat, though it seemed very familiar._

 

She tilted her head curiously, then it clicked…

 

_Oh, wait…she did know this cat_

“Well good morning to you too, Miss Cleo,” she said petting the cat again. Miss Cleo meowed happily, seemingly pleased with the recognition. This was the cat from the Orson case when she’d first met Magnus.

 

_Hmm…_

Magnus had adopted it after the case; he’d showed her a few pictures of Miss Cleo every now and then. Izzy actually hadn’t made it over to his place yet, she just always seemed busy…

 

Well, also, since Alec started hanging out there she kind of liked giving them their space. She knew they weren’t _together_ together (yet), but she thought it was just a matter of time. She really didn’t want to seem like she was encroaching and figured they needed their space to work it out. I mean, yeah, Raphael and Simon were there a lot, but they _lived_ there,

 

_Well…Raphael did, and she was pretty sure Simon did too; they just didn’t seem to realize it._

 She was in agreement with them and Max to just let the two idiots work it out for themselves; no matter how long it took, (though all of them would take little opportunities to give them subtle pushes).

 

_Huh…Why was Magnus’s cat at her house?_

She glanced around curiously…

 

_Wait…_

_This wasn’t her house. Where the hell was she?_

 

She looked around, totally confused. Was she in some kind of tent? The walls were seemingly random multicolored pieces of fabric, most brightly colored, it was oddly pretty, the light streaming through casting different colors on everything. She rolled over looking towards the roof.

 

_Oookay, not a tent, unless they had tents with wooden roofs now._

She turned trying to get a better idea of where she was…w-was she actually under a table?

 

_What the hell?_

She props herself up on her elbow, glancing around. She realized the floor was piled high with blankets, comforters and pillows; it was almost like a nest.

 

_Well, at least that explains why she was still comfortable._

 

Okay, so…she didn’t know what was going on, but, as Magnus’s cat was curled up next to her, logically, she must be at their place. How did she end up there? She tried to think back, but was drawing a total blank.

 

Hmm… Magnus _was_ always trying to get her to come with him to the club, maybe they had and she had too much to drink and just crashed at his place; that made sense…

 

_Not so much the apparent fort she’d built from the dining room table though. Also, if she had **that** much to drink then she sure as hell would be feeling it today._

She took a deep breath, mentally taking stock…

 

Her head felt fine, a bit fuzzy, but no pain. She didn’t feel nauseous or even the least bit under the weather. She felt fine…oddly, that made her more uneasy.

 

If she’d felt hung over at least she’d know what was going on. Izzy tried to think back to the last thing she clearly remembered.

 

She’s worked Friday; she remembered that…

 

They were trying to find some useable prints on a few things from the crime scene Magnus and Alec had been working. They were trying to track down an antique crossbow that had been stolen from a private residence.

 

 The widow had hired Magnus in hopes he’d be able to track it down, even offering a huge bonus if he could find it and get it back before Monday evening, as it was supposed to be showcased in an exhibition that opened Tuesday. It was a huge opportunity and Magnus was quite excited about it.

 

He had asked Alec to help, and since Simon was out of town till Sunday, and he had the next two days off, he agreed, figuring it’d be interesting. Also, _Magnus_ had asked…and he could never say no to Magnus _(And yet **still** they had no clue…seriously, idiots…she loved them, but really… **idiots** )_.

 

They’d had no luck as of yet. It was an odd case, but they’d been hoping they would find some leads if she could track down some prints or other physical evidence. She remembered checking, but not really finding much.

 

They followed a few leads, but nothing panned out. After that though, things seemed to get fuzzy.  She had a few flashes of random scenes here and there, but nothing too important, nothing that _really_ stood out.

 

She really had no idea how she had ended up at Magnus’s or what was going on…

 

“Wow…you were not kidding…I didn’t think we even had this many blankets.”

 

_Huh…that was Raphael…maybe he’d know what was going on…_

 

 “Yeah…these really don’t look like something you or Magnus would pick out, they almost seem like-

 

_Alec!?”_

 

_There was a pause…why was there a pause? And why was Simon here? He was out of town till Sunday, it was a training thing, mandatory, no way he left early…_

“Uh…h-hey Alec, Magnus...Morning…”

 

**_What?!_ ** _Alec was here too?! What happened? Did they figure it out?!_

“Umm…So…Simon’s back,”

 

_Yeah, I got that when he was talking, WHY is he back?!_

“I thought you did not get back until Sunday morning?” Magnus said confused

 

_Exactly!_

“Magnus…are you alright? _It Is_ Sunday, it’s noon, my plane got in two hours ago and I couldn’t get a hold of any of you.”

 

**_WHAT!?_ **

****

She sat up straight, moving so quickly she startled Miss Cleo, just barely missing bumping her head on the table.

 

_She was missing a whole day? What the hell happened?!_

“So…I take it none of you remember yesterday?” Simon asked

 

She nodded faintly, pushing her hair back, glancing around. Beginning to move over to climb out of her weird makeshift fort (That was just one in a _LONG_ list of _‘what the hell’_ things this morning…or afternoon… _oh crap_ …)

 

“We really need to figure this out.”

 

“Yeah…we really do.” Izzy said looking over the guys, freezing.

 

 _“Izzy!?”_ They all nearly gasp in almost perfect unison,

 

_Any other time she’d find it incredibly funny…this morning, not so much…_

She raised her eyebrow when she caught sight of her brother. He looked shocked, before hastily glancing away, blushing brightly, awkwardly rubbing at his neck. His hair’s a total mess, he’s shirtless, and wearing a pair of wine red pajama pants that were most definitely _NOT_ his. She glanced over at Raphael, eyes widening more, just barely keeping a laugh in check when she caught sight of _his_ outfit. She shook her head;

 

_Well…looks like she wasn’t the only one who might have an interesting story…_

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

_Oh god…what the hell happened?_

This seemed like some bizarre, crazy dream…only he already woke up from one…well, what he _thought_ was a dream...

 

_And it was one hell of a dream…_

 

Waking up in bed with Magnus had definitely _felt_ like a dream, one he’d had plenty of times. True, it had felt far more real, but he was sure it HAD to have been a dream, how else would he just suddenly be in bed with _Magnus_?

 

He’d felt him cuddle closer, kissing at his neck and Alec responded automatically, pulling him close, kissing him deeply. Magnus had reacted wonderfully, wrapping around him, making this incredibly soft whimpering sound that drove Alec absolutely crazy,

 

_But then again, everything about Magnus drove him crazy._

 

It had been so amazing, so much better than any of his other dreams;

 

  _It was never like this._

 

Magnus was so responsive, so eager…it made his heart race, leaving him breathless and dizzy. He never wanted it to stop, never wanted to go back to reality. Everything about it felt so wonderfully real, he had no idea he had such an amazingly detailed imagination.

 

Magnus was running his hand up his back, through his hair, tugging him closer. Once, Magnus seemed to freeze for a moment, but Alec started to kiss down his neck and Magnus had been even more enthusiastic then he was before. Alec groaned, pushing Magnus back onto the bed, going in for a deep, passionate kiss. Magnus absolutely drove him wild; he made that pretty whimpering sound again, pulling Alec down on top of him, moaning, arching up against him, nipping at his lip before going in for an absolutely toe curling kiss…

 

_God, it was never this good in his dreams…_

He shifted again breaking the kiss, needing to breathe, but unable to stop altogether. He began kissing down Magnus’s neck once more; he seemed to _really_ like that. He could feel his breath catch, he gasped softly, arching closer, it was intoxicating. He began to venture a bit lower, slowly making his way down his chest. Magnus made a pleased humming sound, clearly on board with it.

 

Alec continued, when suddenly Magnus seemed to still, go ridged. His hand grasped Alec’s shoulder stilling him…

 

He groaned, trying to continue…he didn’t want to stop…it felt too good,

 

“A-Alexander...sweetheart, you need to wake up.”

 

_“Hmm…”_

_No…not yet, he didn’t want to wake up, not when his dream was so amazing…_

He nuzzled closer, tightening his hold on Magnus, resting his head on Magnus’s chest, right above his heart, trying to stay in his dream for a bit longer.

 

He heard Magnus give a faint sigh; he shifted, bringing his hand up, running his fingers gently through his hair. Alec cuddled closer, holding Magnus a bit tighter…

 

It felt so good …so real …it truly seemed like he could feel Magnus; the heat of his skin, his hand in his hair, smell his sent _(God, Magnus always smelled so good),_ like this he could practically hear his heartbeat. He nuzzled closer, pressing a soft kiss to his skin, he felt Magnus’s breath catch, his hand carding through his hair tightening slightly…

_Mmmm…that was good…_

He felt Magnus’s hand run down his shoulder, grasping slightly,

 

_Did that mean he could keep going?_

Magnus shook him slightly

 

“Sweetheart...” Magnus said softly

 

“You need to wake up, darling.”

 

“Hmm…” he shifted slightly, trying to open his eyes

 

_Wow…was he actually dreaming about waking up in another dream? Was that a thing? It had to be_

He smiled, letting his hand trail up Magnus’s side…

 

_Okay…this dream may actually be better than the one he just left._

His head was resting on Magnus’s bare chest; he was sitting up slightly, the sunlight streaming through the window catching in his hair, which had the pretty, brilliant violet streaks…

 

Those were Alec’s favorite…all of them were nice, but those were the ones he had during the Orson case…the first time they’d really worked together…the first time he REALLY saw Magnus.

 

His eyes looked soft and _so_ warm, he didn’t have any makeup on, his hair was tousled, he was slightly flushed.

 

_God…he was beautiful…_

“Hmmm…morning beautiful.” he murmured softly

 

Magnus seemed to startle at that a bit, blushing brighter, a soft, surprised smile flickering over his expression.

 

_He’d made Magnus blush…yeah…this dream was definitely better than the last one…_

“A-Alexander…darling? D-do you remember what happened last night?” he asked softly

 

_Hmm? Last night?_

_Why was his dream asking him about another dream?_

_That was kind of odd_

Magnus caught his hand, stilling it; he took Alec’s hand, intertwining their fingers,

 

“Sweetheart, this is real, you are not dreaming…”

 

_What? That didn’t make sense…_

Magnus squeezed his hand harder. It was solid, and real.

 

This was real…

 

_Oh god…_

He sat up quickly, moving over, away from Magnus…REAL, _not a dream,_ Magnus…who he’d just woke up in bed with. He looked around in shock. They were in Magnus’s bedroom, in his bed. He looked down at himself then over at Magnus.

 

He was in Magnus’s bed!

 

**_WITH Magnus!_ **

****

_What happened!? No way in hell he would forget going to bed with freaking Magnus!_

 

He shook his head,

 

“I-I…w-what’s…I don’t…”

 

_Oh god…it was real…all of it. He’d been kissing Magnus, touching him, he’d tried to…_

_Oh hell…_

Magnus moved closer, giving him a gentle, reassuring smile,

“Sweetheart, breathe…and please stop looking so guilty.”

 

“But Magnus I-”

 

“Thought you were dreaming…I thought the same thing when I woke up. It’s okay, sweetheart.” he said reassuringly, squeezing his hand, tugging him closer.

 

“Magnus, what happened last night? I…I don’t remember” He said softly, apologetically

 

Magnus got a strange, anxious look,

 

He shook his head faintly, taking a deep breath.

 

“Sweetheart…I don’t either”

 

Alec swears he felt his heart stop.

 

_Magnus remembered EVERYTHING…if he couldn’t then something was definitely **seriously** wrong…_

_He had felt like he had awakened to a dream…_

_Now he was wondering if it was going to turn out to be a nightmare…_

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I really like Izzy, I think this is working pretty well so far…it looks like we might have a slight bit of an actual case mixed in. I really hope I can keep this from being too confusing.
> 
> The last few stories I’ve had pretty much worked out before I even started. This one I kind of purposefully didn’t do that, as I actually want it to feel a bit disjointed, I think in this that will kind of work really well (At least I hope it does) besides, I tend to wander from my original plan a lot anyways.
> 
> I really think this is gonna be interesting
> 
> And I promise this will just be craziness, fluff and humor, and maybe a bit more fluff, NO angst whatsoever (Well…that’s what I have planned, though as I said this one may wander, so I don’t really know for 100% sure)
> 
> * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -
> 
> So, this wasn’t exactly what I planned for this part, but I couldn’t just NOT have Alec’s view of waking up with Magnus…We’ll just give Alec the first part of the next chapter as well and then we’ll get the story moving,
> 
> Kay?
> 
> Alright…
> 
> I loved seeing both their views of the morning, it seems odd, but so far it seems to be working pretty well…
> 
> I hope it wasn’t too confusing for anyone…
> 
> _So, what do you guys think so far?_
> 
>  
> 
>  


	3. Phone Tag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group try to figure out just what the hell happened…to begin with, where are their phones?
> 
> Simon has an app for that…though this may just raise even more questions.
> 
>  

##  _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_

##  _ Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec _

##  _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_

He shook his head…

 

He’d freak out about this later; right now they really needed to figure out what the hell happened. They were all missing an entire day, that was more important than the possibility that he may have slept with Magnus last night…

 

_Well, okay…maybe not MORE important, but they were at least tied._

 

He shook his head once more, glancing around at the others; Izzy looked worried, but curious, so she wasn’t in any real distress, just confused. She was wearing a set of her pajamas, he knew because he’d been with her when she’d picked them out, (She’d tried to get him to get a pair of the men’s; he pretended not to know her until they left the store)

 

 A pair of black pants decorated with rainbow hearts and a rainbow colored tank top with four glittery black hearts across the front.

 

  _So, she was in her own clothes, clearly dressed for bed, meaning she had her facilities enough for that, and she was here, safe,_

_Alright…that was definitely something._

 

He had to fight off a smile when he actually noticed what Raphael was wearing…

 

_Yeah, those were most definitely NOT his clothes; where does Simon even **find** these things?_

 

Then him and Magnus… _yeah_ …

 

He blushed faintly, scratching at his neck, glancing around in embarrassment.

 

He paused

 

_Wow…the place looked like a Linen’s N’ Things exploded._

 

There were blankets, comforters, pillows and sheets everywhere, covering every area…

 

_Okay…so…that was weird_

 

He shrugged, somewhat at a loss, glancing over at Magnus; he appeared just as baffled.

 

 “O-okay…so, we really need to figure this out” he stated

 

They all nodded in agreement

 

He glanced over at Magnus, catching his eye, giving a faint shrug, unsure where to begin. Magnus gave a slight, reassuring smile before turning to the others.

 

 “Alright, so, we don’t know what happened…it is a mystery at this point, quite confusing, I admit, however I have no doubt we can figure it out.

 

We have a psychic, two of the best detectives in the city, a medical examiner and a…a _Raphael_ … with all that, we will have this sorted in no time” he finished reassuringly 

 

 

They all chuckled slightly at that, nodding, looking over the rest of the group.

 

_Magnus had a point…with this group they could solve just about anything._

 

 “Well, one thing I know, whoever is responsible is in for a very unpleasant awakening when I find them…” Raphael said ominously

 

Alec burst out laughing, startling him

 

 “What?” He asked, shocked

 

 “Uh…S-sorry, but if you’re going to do the intimidation/threatening thing, you REALLY need to change first…”

 

Raphael froze, looking down at himself, seemingly just remembering what he was wearing. He blushed faintly.

 

The others dissolved into laughter

 

Well, Simon tried not to, held out as long as he could, before losing it, laughing hysterically,

 

Raphael glared faintly at him

 

He laughed harder

 

 “I-I…oh my god, I am sorry, I love you, but dude, you just cannot pull off scary and intimidating when you look that cute”

 

The others laughed more

 

Raphael huffed slightly, blushing brighter, but couldn’t quite contain a slight smile, shaking his head

 

 “Why do you even HAVE these?” he asked exasperated, 

 

Simon chuckled

 

_“Hey, you said it was cute when I wore it!”_

 

 “It was, _on_ ** _you_** _”_

 

Simon smirked

 

 “Well, it is on _**you**_ , too”

 

Raphael rolled his eyes, but tugged him close, kissing him lightly.

 

 “Ugh…I’m gonna get a cavity” Izzy muttered, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly.

 

That seemed to be what they needed to break the tension, the entire room breathed a collective sigh of relief.

 

 “Alright, so…let’s just approach this the same way we would any case; what do we know?” Magnus began, glancing around the group.

 

 “Well…we're  missing an entire day, we all woke up here, no one looks hurt or in any distress…I feel fine, well, except my neck…I think the rest of you do as well, correct?” Raphael asked, curiously

 

The other three nodded

 

 “What’s wrong with your neck, darling?” Magnus asked concerned

 

He waved him off

 

 “Oh, no, nothing, apparently I spent the night in the bathtub”

 

 “Wow…suddenly waking up in a makeshift fort under the dining room table sounds pretty good” Izzy muttered

 

Raphael nodded emphatically

 

 “Okay, so Raphael spent the night in the tub, Isabelle in a fort under the table…t-that is more than a bit odd…I really cannot fathom a way that happened” Magnus shook his head in mystification.

 

Alec nodded, leaning closer; he slipped his arm around Magnus, hugging him slightly.

 

 “Hey, we’ll figure it out. The important thing is we are all here, safe, and in good health.”

 

Magnus gave him a grateful smile, slipping his arm around Alec, nestling a bit closer.

 

 “You are right sweetheart, thank you” he said softly, leaning up, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

 

Alec just shrugged, giving him one more slight hug, before turning back to the rest of the group.

 

 “So, what else do we know? Any other clues?” 

 

 “W-well…” Simon started, blushing faintly, glancing away from them

 

 “Obviously at some point someone, or even a few someone’s, were building a blanket fort, and I don’t think all these are Magnus and Raphael’s…so that might be something.”

 

Alec glanced around, startling a bit

 

 “Hey yeah, that’s actually my comforter…and I think those over there might be some of my sheets too…”

 

Izzy nodded, eyes falling on a very familiar blanket draped over the lounge

  
“Yeah…that one is mine…why is it here?”

 

Alec shook his head

 

 “I don’t know, probably the same reason mine are…Also, you have your pajamas, so clearly, for some reason, you planned to stay here…that might be something too”

 

She seemed to startle slightly

 

 “Oh, yeah, I totally forgot”

 

She stepped forward holding her arm out for them to see

 

Alec gasped

 

  _“You got a tattoo!”_

 

She rolled her eyes

 

 “No, it’s just pen, but it’s really detailed, extremely well done…also, there’s this”

 

She turned her arm, opening her palm

 

 “A phone number?”

 

 _“That’s Clary’s number!”_ Magnus exclaimed

 

 “And I should have recognized the artwork straight away; the girl is remarkably talented.”

 

Izzy tilted her head curiously

 

 “Who’s Clary?”

 

Magnus smiled

 

 “Oh, one of my best friends…she’s an angel…”

 

Magnus paused for a second, chuckling

 

 “Well…actually she’s a wiccan. She owns an occult shop down town…we should go there, she may be able to fill us in on some of what happened yesterday”

 

 “Oh, umm…okay” she said somewhat hesitantly

 

Simon seems to startle, eyes widening

 

 “Wait, I got an idea…I couldn’t get a hold of any of you…let’s see if we can find your phones…if we can maybe they have some clues; pictures or something.”

 

He took out his phone; quickly hitting the number for Alec…they were all silent, listening intently…

 

_Nothing…_

 

 “Huh”

 

He hit the button for Magnus…

 

_Nothing…_

 

Raphael…

 

_Nope…_

 

Finally he hit Izzy’s, just in case…

 

_Not-_

 

_Wait…_

 

_Was that…_

 

They could hear it, but it was very faint…

 

The wandered around the apartment, Simon kept hitting the call button to keep it ringing. It seemed to be coming from somewhere in the kitchen. They followed, zeroing in…opening cabinets and drawers in bewilderment.

 

_Was it?_

 

Alec leaned down, opening the oven…

 

 “Ugh…I found it” he said confused, holding it up, handing it back to Izzy.

 

_Well…that didn’t really **lessen** any of the confusion…At least they didn’t try to cook anything afterwards_

 

 “Uhh…O-okay…well, we have one of our phones. That’s a start.”

 

 “ _Wait_ …On my phone, I have… _ah!_ Here it is!” Simon said excitedly

 

They all crowded around to see.

 

Magnus grinned

 

 “The Find My Friends App…that would be quite helpful, good thinking, darling” he slipped his arm around Simon, quickly pressing a kiss to his cheek.

 

Simon smiled brightly at the compliment, blushing faintly, hitting a few buttons, bringing up their numbers…

 

"Huh…

 

Oookay…uh…Alec? Apparently your phone is at pandemonium. Magnus, yours is down at the station, and Raphael? Yours is at 7662 Summerside way…it’s someone’s house.”

 

 “That’s _Jace’s_ address” Alec said, totally baffled

 

 “ _What?! Why the hell is my phone at Jace’s?_ Did your brother steal my phone?!” He demanded

 

 “I don’t know! Probably not, but who the hell knows at this point. Why is mine at Pandemonium? At least Magnus’s makes sense!”

 

Izzy let out a slight gasping muffled laugh…

 

They all turned to her in confusion

 

 “Umm…I-uh, I may have another clue…or something…maybe a Christmas card…At least you probably fit in at Pandemonium”

 

She turned her phone so they could see

 

There was Alec, but he’d never seen himself like that before;

 

He was wearing a very nice VERY fitted deep green short sleeved shirt along with black pants that had silver embellishments all along the sides and around the pockets, that may have been leather. He had one of Magnus’s silver earcuffs on.

 

He also had black, perfectly applied eyeliner and a bit of a shimmer along his cheekbones…

 

And a _Very_ distinct purple lip print on his cheek…

 

 “Uhh...” he trailed off, really at a loss as to what to say to that.

 

"Isabelle, darling, can you-"

 

"Already sent" she said with a smirk and a wink at Magnus.  

 

One thing was for sure, they apparently had a VERY memorable Saturday…

 

_Now if only they could actually remember it…_

##  _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_

##  _ Other-Other-Other-Other-Other _

##  _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_ _*_ _-_

 

##  _ Izzy _

_This really was just too crazy…it was like some bizarre scavenger hunt…only rather than some prize it was their memories they were trying to find._

_An entire day’s worth…_

She shook her head, trying to think over all they knew.

 

So apparently at some point Alec was clubbing at Pandemonium _(And dressed for the event…)_ she hid a smile at that, and another at the memory of Magnus’s expression when he saw the picture…she was pretty sure his jaw actually dropped and he did not blink for a solid minute…(Once again… _idiots_ ).

 

_Magnus’s was at the station…no surprises there…_

And for some unfathomable reason Raphael was at _freaking_ Jace’s (That was weirder than Alec clubbing)…

 

Also, she had met a Wiccan who owned an occult shop, and had flirted, causing said Wiccan to like her enough to give her her number, _and draw on her_ …

 

She glanced at her arm again,

 

It really was pretty, but she was now a bit anxious about some of the symbols…

 

_It wasn’t, like, some spell or curse or something, was it?_

I mean, if she gave Izzy her number, writing it on her palm no less, she must have liked her…right?

 

_So…probably not a curse…_

_Maybe…_

It wasn’t that she truly believed in that kind of thing…she was a scientist and member of law enforcement, after all, but still…she was never one to totally rule anything out.

 

It’s no secret that there are a lot of strange things (And people) in this world…

 

Even if something wasn’t actually ‘real’, someone truly believing it could be just as problematic.

 

The idea that a self professed witch had apparently taken a liking to her kind of weirded her out. She’d never actually been into the whole Goth, emo, dark and depressing kinda thing…nothing against it; it just was never her tastes…

 

_Hopefully the girl wouldn’t be too upset…maybe she could just let her down gently? She was a friend of Magnus’s…she couldn’t be **that** bad. If she simply explains that someone slipped them something, that she didn’t know what she was saying…she’d understand…_

_Right?_

_Okay…well, at least she’ll have some time before she has to deal with that…they could get started on the case; that will help get her mind off it._

 “So…where should we start?” She asked the room, glancing at the others

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“Well…how about we start by going to Clary’s shop…we can find out when we saw her and get some kind of a timeline started. Also her shop has a fairly extensive apothecary section…perhaps she has something that could help with the memory loss.

 

_Ah, crap…_

##  _ 1 Hour Later _

 

 

It had taken them quite a while to get out of the apartment,

 

After a lengthy search of the apartment Izzy found what apparently was her outfit the day before…a pair of dark blue distressed jeans, some gorgeous strappy gold heels, and a really cute sheer gauzy red halter top with gold accents and a gold bandu top for underneath. She didn’t remember buying them, but they were totally her taste…

 

_Whatever, there hers now._

 

Alec had searched for his original clothes but came up empty handed… they did, however, find several shopping bags filled with clothes in his size…not even close to his style though, _They actually HAD style._ They found the green shirt, it smelled somewhat strongly of alcohol  as well as the pants from the photo, which were, in fact, leather…he’d blushed brightly, Magnus had just glanced in the bags, glanced at Alec, then blushed even brighter than Alec (once again, _idiots, **Clueless** idiots_ )

 

_So, another clue…they’d apparently gone shopping and got Alec some clothes that weren’t an egregious affront to style and taste. At least one good thing may have come of this…_

Surprisingly, Magnus and Raphael were the quickest getting ready. Though they had their whole wardrobes, neither of them was really feeling it today.

 

They both just threw on jeans and black tee-shirts…

 

Well, _okay_ , so Magnus’s jeans were purple, and the shirt was really fitted, had mesh detail around the hem and sleeves, and a ban in the bi pride color flag across the chest with ‘Bi the way…” written across it in black glitter letters, but still…

 

For them it was casual.

 

They’d also had quite a time finding their keys…Magnus finally gave up and got his spare from the junk drawer.

 

When they got to the garage they found another clue…or lack of one…

 

Raphael’s car was missing.

 

“Oh, if someone stole my car…” he started, livid.

 

Simon shook his head.

 

“Probably not, maybe wherever you guys were, you drove. If you realized you we’re dosed you wouldn’t have drove home. I’m thinking maybe you left your car wherever you guys were…It should have a tracker, maybe we ca-”

 

Raphael shook his head slightly

 

“Uhh…yeah…it doesn’t work”

 

“Why doesn’t it work?”

 

“Because, I may have disconnected it…” he said glancing away

 

Simon shook his head, raising his eyebrow

 

“ _What_? I don’t like people tracking me.”

 

“Okay…so another thing to find…we’ll try to figure it out, and keep an eye out for Raphael’s car…where ever that is would hopefully tell us where you were when you first realized something was wrong. That’s something…”

 

_They all nodded, clambering into Magnus’s car, all trying to figure out just where this would all lead._

 

##  _ 15 minutes later _

 

 As they approached the door, Izzy slows…it didn’t seem nearly as formidable as she was expecting. When Magnus had said ‘Occult shop’ she had a totally different picture in her head. All dark, foreboding, creepy…this was like the antithesis of that.

 

 ** _‘Wiccan’s Wishes’_** actually looked really inviting.

 

The writing on the sign was kind of swoopy and whimsical; the storefront was painted black but had iridescent stars and symbols scattered about it, making it seem less severe. A large picture window in the front had a multitude of crystals and dream catchers hanging in it, catching the light, shimmering beautifully. The door was painted an almost startling purple. Most of the top half of the door was what appeared to be a window…at one time.

 

Now it was painted with a brilliant, intricate mural …seemingly hundreds of things interwoven together; stars, symbols, a few abstract animals, what appeared to be a female figure, flowers…and still more…

 

It was stunning, as if the more you looked the more you could see. It was like stained glass, the colors translucent allowing the light to stream through…casting colors and patterns on the room inside

 

_Wow…okay, so, she didn’t really believe in ‘magic’ and supernatural powers and that kind of thing, but looking at this she wasn’t so sure…_

_She couldn’t imagine someone being able to do something like this without some sort of magic._

Ahead of her Magnus and the others had already reached the door, she picked up the pace a bit, falling back in with the group. As the door opened a light cheery bell tinkled above the door signaling their entrance.

 

Once again she froze, looking around.

 

The place was amazing. Everything was bright, cheerful; everywhere she looked she saw something new. The walls were absolutely covered in artwork, amazingly detailed, and completely stunning,

 

 She was never really artistic; this was just so far away from anything she could imagine creating.

 

Crystals hung everywhere catching the light sending prismatic rainbows flitting about like fairies. She couldn’t help but smile. The place just felt so warm and positive.

 

She wandered around, almost in a daze; everywhere she looked something else caught her eye.  She spotted the apothecary area, it seemed organized and yet still somewhat chaotic and oddly endearing;

 

 Various jars, containers, bottles and the like arranged along numerous shelves and a few hanging baskets with flowers and herbs situated seemingly randomly about. They were all labeled in the same swoopy, careful writing like the number on her hand. It was really quite pleasant, with them the entire shop had a warm, earthy, spicy sent that was oddly comforting…she wondered if there was some potpourri or something she could buy to take home.

 

Turning she saw another area and gasped, rushing over excitedly to get a better look.

 

_Okay there was a jewelry section… this might be her new favorite place._

The items were absolutely stunning; unlike any jewelry she’d ever seen. Beautiful stones and glittering crystals, along with other natural elements mixed with different types of metals and woven leather…

 

_This stuff was amazing…_

_She couldn’t imagine the person who put this together…_

“Oh, hey Mag’s, sorry I’m such a mess…I was working on some paintings for my show next month…” a bright, captivating voice said in a breathless rush,

 

Izzy turned and, once again, froze

 

_Okay, yeah, forget the whole ‘letting her down easy’ thing…not happening…_

**_Wow…_ **

****

_Maybe whatever they were slipped had some kind of delayed hallucination kinda thing or something_

_Because no way that girl was real…_

She was kind of on the short side, and without a doubt, the most beautiful girl Izzy had ever seen.

 

Brilliant, flame red hair was pulled up into a messy bun,or had been; quite a few strands had escaped, falling about her face, framing it perfectly.

 

Her eyes were a mesmerizing jade green that seemed to sparkle, bright with excitement and laughter. Her adorable, slightly upturned nose was lightly dusted with freckles and there was a faint flush to her cheeks, along with a few little flicks of paint, and the most beautiful smile Izzy had ever laid eyes on.

 

She was wearing a simple purple tank top flecked with more paint, and a pair of worn faded blue jean Capri’s…She was barefoot and had a silver anklet with charms that seemed to catch in the light, sparkling.

 

Izzy just stared, dumbfounded…not even blinking, so as not to have the vision disappear.

 

Magnus chuckled slightly stepping forward, hugging her affectionately, giving her a light kiss on the cheek.

 

_Izzy was in no way jealous_

 “Hello, biscuit, no worries darling, you always look lovely”

 

Clary laughed brightly, blushing more, rolling her eyes slightly

 

“You always say that”

 

“It’s always true, darling” he said smiling

 

Izzy nodded faintly, still unable to form words

 

“So, what are you guys up to today?” she asked looking over the four guys cheerfully

 

They all glanced at each other nervously, not really sure where to start

 

She seemed to sober instantly

 

“Is something wrong?” she asked concerned

 

“Uh, yes…I’m afraid so…d-did you see us yesterday?”

 

She tilted her head, confused

 

“Yeah?...of course…”

 

“Do you remember about what time, and maybe where we were going next?”

 

Her eyes widened in shock

 

“M-Mag’s what’s going on? You don’t remember coming here?” She asked anxiously

 

They nodded faintly

 

“Yes, I am afraid we cannot remember anything from yesterday…it is an entire blank”

 

She gasped, looking between them

 

“W-what, how?”

 

Alec shook his head

 

“Nearest we can figure, someone slipped us something. We woke up and had no idea we were missing an entire day until we realized Simon was home.

We’re trying to piece it together…but so far have just come up with more questions.”

 

“Oh my gosh, guys…I am _so_ sorry. You three must be totally freaking out, is there anything I can do to help?” she asked

 

“Actually it’s the four of us…” Magnus said, glancing over at Izzy.

 

“Four…who-” she turned just now spotting Izzy.

 

_Wow…head on she was even more beautiful…_

_Maybe she did actually have powers…no way a normal human should be that breathtaking_

Her eyes widened slightly, she stepped a bit closer, hesitantly.

 

Izzy could see a million different emotions flitting across her face, before falling slightly, seemingly settling on worried and disappointed.

 

“Oh…y-you don’t remember yesterday?” she asked softly

 

Izzy shook her head faintly,

 

“So…you don’t remember meeting me?”

 

Izzy shook her head again, just the slightest bit of a movement.

 

“Oh…” she said faintly, glancing away, clearly trying to hide her disappointment.

 

_Okay, NO…that needed to change right now_

“I don’t…but I **_really_** wish I did”

 

Clary’s eyes snap back up, she looks surprised, and cautiously hopeful.

 

“You do?”

 

Izzy stepped closer, nodding,

 

_Okay, she was missing a day, and during that day she had apparently met, flirted with, and, judging by her reaction, totally captivated, the prettiest girl she’d ever seen. Whenever she figured out who the hell did this, she’d make sure they paid dearly (possibly **painfully** ) for making her forget that._

_But in the meantime…she’d just have to do it again…_

_Not exactly a hardship there…_

She gave a faint, flirty smirk

 

“Yeah, I really do”

 

Clary gives her a bright, hopeful smile.

 

“I’ll help you guys. I am sure we can find some way to get your guy’s memories back.”

 

Izzy stepped a bit closer, now near enough to reach her

 

“Well…just in case” Izzy started, reaching forward taking her hand, shaking it lightly…

 

And not letting go

 

“Hello, I’m Isabelle” she said smoothly, squeezing her hand lightly

 

Clary’s eyes widened, she blushed brightly, glancing away, trying to stop a faint giggle.

 

“O-oh…umm…h-hi…Clary” she stammered, blushing brighter

 

“Hi, Clary…it is REALLY nice to meet you…again”

 

She giggled faintly, blushing even brighter, glancing up at her with a delightfully brilliant smile

 

Izzy felt her heart do a flip

 

_Yeah, the girl must have some kind of Magic…_

_Because Izzy was completely enchanted…_

* - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like how this is going, all the weird clues…and how everyone is just kinda avoiding how Alec and Magnus obviously woke up…
> 
> * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -
> 
> Okay, I love Izzy SO much.
> 
> I know Clizzy is moving kind of fast, but, _damnit,_ SOMEONE in this group needs to be able to actually flirt, **_purposefully_** with their love interest( _Raphael_ ), seriously( _Magnus_ ) and have said love interest _get_ that it’s for real( _Alec_ ).
> 
> Clearly Izzy’s got it together more than all the guys (As well she should…she’s awesome)
> 
>   _Total random side note…_
> 
> I kind of had an idea for a later episode.
> 
> I don’t know what all will be involved but somehow Raphael and Alec will have to pose as a couple. I mean as of yet they’re the only two who haven’t been mistaken for a couple, and I think it’d just be hilarious


	4. To go Forward You Need To Go Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clary may have a way to help them with their memories

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Other-Other-Other-Other-Other

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

##  _Izzy_

“Uhh…I don’t know if I should be here for this.” Alec said awkwardly, breaking the spell.

 

Izzy glanced over at him, rolling her eyes, before turning back to Clary, gesturing towards him.

 

“Sorry about my brother…flirting almost always confuses him…regardless of if it’s aimed at him or not; he’s either totally oblivious to it, or, well, _that_.

 

 He’s my big brother, so I say it’s endearing…not bordering on painfully awkward or anything.”

 

The others chuckle slightly, sharing a look,

 

_Yeah, they knew this one._

 

Alec blushes and glares slightly.

 

Clary giggles before shooting Alec a slightly sheepish, apologetic smile,

 

“It’s okay Alec, I think it’s sweet.” She smiles once more at him before turning back to Izzy,

 

“So…you guys don’t remember anything from yesterday?” she asks, glancing at the others.

 

Alec, Magnus, and Raphael shake their heads,

 

“No…nothing, it’s a total blank. When we came here, how did we seem?” Izzy asked

 

“You all seemed fine; nothing out of the ordinary.” She started, shaking her head slightly, tilting her head, glancing over at Magnus,

 

“Mags? You had called me to ask about a case…I think you were looking for something that was stolen, some kind of weapon. You said there were some symbols around the crime scene and you wanted me to see if I could identify them.”

 

Magnus tilted his head, curiously,

 

“The symbols? I thought they were nothing…did we find something else?”

 

She shook her head,

 

“They really were nothing…I mean literally. They were a mishmash of Gaelic, Pagan, and Grecian symbols, but they meant nothing, none of them translated to anything of any interest…

 

We came to the conclusion they were just added in a hurry, to throw people off. Basically, it was like someone googled ‘magic symbols’ and just drew what came up…

 

Badly, I might add…more than a few had glaring mistakes.”

 

Alec tilted his head curiously,

 

“Huh…okay, so we were working on the Lawery’s case, the stolen crossbow. I do remember us going over the symbols on Friday. Magnus had said they were just a distraction, but maybe we wanted to be sure?” he finished looking at the others

 

Raphael nodded, consideringly,

 

“That would make sense. They were one of the few leads we had, and the only thing that really stood out. The case wasn’t locked, but it was in a room that was used quite rarely…her husband’s old office, she hardly ever went in there since he passed, it was cleaned once a month, but other than that it was all but abandoned. She really didn’t allow people in the office, save for very rare occasions.

 

Everyone knew where it was kept. Add to it that there was a fundraiser held at her house the previous evening and the suspect pool is rather extensive.

 

She had brought it back from the appraisers about a month ago, but after that it was locked in the case, no one had any occasion to go in the room.”

 

Magnus picked up, nodding

 

“We must have thought there was something to the symbols, maybe something we missed?”

 

She thought a moment, then gasped,

 

 “Oh wait! We did find one thing…whoever did the symbols probably had a bit of an issue with their dexterity,

 

That would explain a lot of the errors in the symbols.”

 

Magnus sighed faintly,

 

“Huh…that could be something…well for the case…not so much for our memories, which I am rather more focused on at the moment. Do you remember where we were going next, by any chance?”

 

She thought for a moment, biting her lip faintly, but shook her head,

 

“No…sorry, you didn’t say.”

 

They all sighed faintly, deflating a bit.

 

_It had really seemed like they may be onto something…_

 

Clary startled somewhat before gasping slightly, becoming animated,

 

“Oh, just a sec, I actually might be able to help…just wait here, be right back…” She flashed Izzy a quick, bright smile before turning and rushing to the back room.

 

_Wow…that was brilliant…_

Izzy just smiled dreamily for a moment before turning back to the others,

 

“Well, at least we may finally…what?” she paused, confused,

 

Alec shook his head, but was smiling slightly,

 

Raphael just raised his eyebrow,

 

Simon smirked,

 

Magnus gave a faint, impish grin,

 

“So…I take it you decided against letting her down easy?”

 

Izzy huffed slightly,

 

_She hated when he did that…it was creepy_

She glanced worriedly at the door,

 

“ _Shh!_ And yes, okay, when you said ‘wiccan’ and ‘occult shop’ I thought something totally different. But she seems really great, and sweet, and is the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen, so can you just not, please?” she rushed out in a near whisper

 

He chuckled, but nodded faintly,

 

“Of course, darling…And you are quite right, Clary is an absolute delight. She is quite expressive, excitable and compassionate, and has a tendency to throw everything she has into, well, everything…”

 

He paused, glancing at the door once more, before turning back to Izzy, sobering faintly,

 

“Darling, please be careful though. When she falls, she falls fast, and hard. I dare say, she may well be on her way with you. I just really cannot stand seeing her hurt.”

 

_Izzy tried to ignore the slight giddiness that statement caused_

She gave him a reassuring smile, nodding.

 

_She could understand Magnus being protective…the girl seemed so bright, cheerful and warm, she couldn’t imagine seeing someone like that hurt…_

_And she’d just met her…_

 

Magnus gave her a gentle smile,

 

 “I do not know what happened yesterday, but you obviously made quite the impression…”

 

“Yeah, now as long as I can make as good of impression the **_second_** time around.”

 

She huffed, shaking her head,

 

“I’ll tell you one thing; when we find out who did this I am going to give them hell for making me forget meeting her.”

 

He huffed out a slight laugh, glancing back at Raphael then Alec, glancing away, shaking his head,

 

“I think you may need to get in line for that one, darling.”

 

She glanced between the two,

 

“Oh yeah, they are so going to regret this…”

 

Raphael gave a sudden bark of laughter,

 

They all turned to him,

 

“What?” she asked

 

He shook his head slightly, chuckling, quirking his eyebrow…

 

“It just occurred to me that between me, a psychic, a head detective, and a medical examiner, we could actually get away with just about anything…” he finished, flashing a quick, dangerous smirk.

 

Izzy and Magnus chuckled,

 

Magnus glanced over, resting his hand on Alec’s arm, squeezing lightly, slipping a bit closer.

 

“Don’t worry, my darling detective, I’m at least 70% sure he is just kidding.”

 

Alec shrugged, keeping a completely straight face,

 

“Actually …I’m kinda with Raphael on this one.”

 

They all freeze,

 

“ _Oh my god_ , you two corrupted Alec, I am never leaving town again…” Simon muttered, shaking his head in exasperation.

 

They all burst out laughing,

 

Magnus slipped his arm around Alec, trying to keep his balance; Alec mimics the movement, winding his arm around Magnus’s waist, his hand resting lightly on his hip, tugging him a bit closer…

 

She breathed a sigh of relief,

 

_Well at least whatever this jackass did, it didn’t hurt Magnus and Alec’s progress too much…she may not actually have to kill them…but they were still going to pay for nearly sabotaging almost a year’s work on her, Raphael, Simon and Max’s part._

 “Hey, sorry it took so long, I had to find everything and I wasn’t sure where the kettle was and then it just took a bit longer cause I wanted it to turn out right.” Clary started, rushing back in the room, an older looking book under her arm, and carrying a tray with a steaming tea kettle and a set of mismatched cups.

 

She set the tray and book down on the counter near the apothecary area, before slipping behind it rushing around grabbing a seemingly random assortment of jars and bottles opening them and placing them on the counter.

 

She quickly opened the book, flicking through the pages, before seemingly finding the right one; her eyes flickered over it quickly before setting it to the side on the counter.

 

She opened the top of the tea kettle and quickly began to add the different ingredients.

 

Izzy moved closer, curiously,

 

She glanced at the book, but it was written in a different language,

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Clary looked up at her, grinning excitedly, almost bouncing, the steam from the pot making her cheeks flush more, her eyes seemed to sparkle even brighter…

 

Izzy just barely managed to fight down a truly embarrassing giggle, grasping the counter top to steady herself.

 

“There’s this tea that can help with memory loss…not like long term, but in something like this. It’s really for a situation exactly like this, trying to recover memories from when you black out…

 

Guess that was quite the problem in 17th century Ireland…that’s where this comes from. Well…not this _actual_ book, it comes from a target in Pasadena and I think it says made in Guam somewhere on it, but the book that this is a reproduction of is from there…” she paused shaking her head

 

 _“A-anyways_ …it does work, I made it a few times for some of my friends in high school and college, it doesn’t make it all come back at once, but they will.

 

If you guys retrace your steps as best you can, that should move it along even more.”

 

She paused for breath, pouring some into each of the four glasses, glancing over the others, before settling back on Izzy.

 

She gave a slightly teasing smirk,

 

“I know you don’t believe in the whole Wicca, magic thing, being a very clever scientist and member of law enforcement and all that, but this isn’t a spell or a good luck charm, like I gave you before…it’s just a recipe…and I swear it works.”

 

Izzy perked up slightly,

 

“You gave me a good luck charm?”

 

She chuckled, nodding,

 

“A couple” she said moving closer, taking Izzy’s hand and lightly turning it to show the drawing on her arm…she brushed lightly over a couple of the symbols, Izzy felt Goosebumps raise on her arm,

 

“These mean luck,”

 

She traced a few more…Izzy breath caught,

 

“These are for prosperity,”

 

She traced the last few,

 

“And these…” she said, glancing up, catching Izzy’s gaze, and holding it,

 

“Mean anticipation,”

 

Izzy couldn’t control the giggle this time, or the blushing,

 

_Okay…she had some skills…_

_Was it like suddenly REALLY warm in here?_

She reached over, grabbing one of the cups, quickly downing the drink.

 

It wasn’t bad, kind of odd, but not bad…

 

“Yeah…I _really_ shouldn’t be here for that.” Alec muttered, grabbing one of the cups

 

“I don’t think any of us should.” Raphael said, nodding, grabbing one of the cups, handing the other to a slightly chuckling Magnus, who shot Clary a playful wink before downing the drink.

 

_Well…so they had a chance of getting their memories back…_

_Also, there may be the slightest possibility she was under a witches spell…_

 

_But hey, At least she was a **really** cute witch..._

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Simon-Simon-Simon-Simon-Simon

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

_Yeah, it was official; he was never going out of town again._

 

_He was gone for ONE day_

 

_**ONE DAY!** _

 

_And he comes back to total chaos._

 

Someone dosed them with something, they lost an entire day, Magnus and Alec may have slept together _(And didn’t remember it)_ Raphael spent the night in the bathtub, in Simons Pajamas, and Izzy spent the night in a fort under the dining room table and was apparently dating a Witch _(Okay, so Clary was awesome and he actually thought they would be awesome together, but still)._

 

When he left they were vaguely looking into a case about a missing crossbow, and now they were trying to recover an entire day.

 

He shook his head before turning back to Clary.

 

“Hey, so, about how long will it take for that tea stuff to kick in?”

 

She seemed to startle slightly, turning from where she had been talking to Izzy, as if she kind of forgot the others where there;

 

_Alright, so they were really cute together…but he was kind of freaking out here. His boyfriend, two best friends, and another really good friend, where missing an entire day. They all seemed safe and okay_ **_now_ ** _; but who knows what could have happened to them?_

 

Who did this? Was it about the case, or something else? Where they targeting law enforcement members, or was it just some idiot screwing around? Why did they do it? Was it just a prank or did they have worse plans?

 

He usually was the positive one, but in this case he just couldn’t help going over all the reasons someone would slip a person something, and none of them were good.

 

_Okay, so, maybe he was freaking out, just a bit, but the idea that someone drugged the people who mean the most to him really worried him._

 

_They actually seemed like they were handling it better than he was._

 

He shook his head once more, looking over at Clary. She gave him a sympathetic smile.

 

“It shouldn’t take too long, like I said; it won’t all come back at the same time, but gradually. It will sometimes take up to an entire day to get them all back. Retracing their steps could help speed it up though.

 

I know they don’t remember anything, but you said you had some clues…maybe if you follow them they’ll be able to recover quicker.”

 

He nodded, thinking a moment, glancing over the others.

 

“Okay, well…we know that Magnus’s phone is down at the station, so obviously you were there at some point. Seems like a good place to start.”

 

Raphael smiled gently at him, slipping closer and winding his arm around Simon.

 

“Good idea, Amore.”

 

He tugged him a bit closer, pressing a light kiss to his cheek.

 

Magnus gave him a warm smile, nodding slightly.

 

“Dear, I really do think it will be fine. We will figure this out, same as any case. I realize this is very personal, but we have clues, we have leads, and, thanks to Clary, we will have more and more as we go along.

 

If we try to stay somewhat objective, approach this as we would any other case, I think we will have it solved quite quickly.

 

You are correct; the station is the next most logical step. We will go there, find my phone, see if there is any new information on it, and whatever other clues there, then proceed to whatever the next logical step will be.”

 

He stepped closer, clasping Simon's shoulder reassuringly.

 

“Don’t worry, we have this, darling.”

 

Simon took a deep breath, nodding faintly.

 

“Okay, so…it’s a case, same as any other one…

 

Let’s get started.”

 

##  _ 30 minutes later:  _

 

“Kay so, we know the phone’s here somewhere, just not exactly where…I’ll start calling it, see if we can follow the noise or something.” Simon said, pulling out his phone, quickly hitting the call button.

 

They stood still, trying to listen for it, slowly making their way around the precinct.

 

Nothing…

 

“Lucky you, you’ve reached-”

 

He disconnected the call when the voicemail picked up, quickly hitting the button again.

 

“Anything?” Alec asked, glancing at the others, they all shook their heads.

 

“Lucky you, you’ve rea-”

 

_Huh…no luck…_

 

_And hit button, and repeat…_

 

They moved out of the bullpen, down the hallway, towards the interrogation rooms.

 

They moved slowly listening expectantly,

 

“Luck-”

 

“Umm…h-hello?” a slightly uncertain voice asked.

 

 Simon stopped in his tracks

 

“Hello? Who is this?” He asked, the others turned, looking at him curiously.

 

He shrugged, hitting the speaker button so they could hear.

 

“Uh…this is Kevin? Who is this?”

 

Simon shook his head giving a faint laugh,

 

“Hey, Kevin, this is Simon. Why exactly are you answering Magnus’s phone?”

 

“W-what? Uh…I-I-I’m not… _sorry!_ I just heard it ringing and it was weird and doing it kinda a lot so I just…I swear I didn’t take it, I wasn’t being nosey or anything, I was just trying to help I-”

 

Simon chuckled, shaking his head in amusement,

 

“ _Kevin_ , dude, breathe, your fine. Magnus lost his phone; we were trying to find it, that’s why I kept calling it. Where are you?”

 

“In the cold case room, the phone was in a box for one of the cases.”

 

_Wow…okay that was an odd one…_

 

“Kevin, dear, would you mind waiting there for us? We’re over by the Interrogation rooms; we’ll be there in just a moment.” Magnus asked hopefully.

 

“Yeah! Of course, no problem, whatever you guys need. See you soon.” He said cheerfully, just before the line disconnected.

 

Alec shook his head, slightly,

 

Simon tried to keep in a chuckle. Kevin’s transfer just went through this week; he’d only been there for a few days yet. Simon kind of thought it was already too long for Alec.

 

The kid was very sweet, and quite helpful, but he practically idolized Alec and Magnus, _especially_ _Alec_. It kind of flustered Alec, he was just not used to that.

 

Simon loved having the guy around…he made Simon’s admiration of Alec when they were first partnered seem far less over the top.

 

He figured once the guy got used to it he’d level out a bit…but until then it really was quite funny seeing Alec so flustered.

 

They made their way back through the station, slipping into the cold case room. They spotted Kevin standing next to one of the shelves, kind of bouncing on his heels. When he saw them he gave a bright smile, moving towards them, holding the phone out.

 

“Hi guys! Hey Magnus, here’s your phone. Sorry” He said, apologetically.

 

Magnus waived him off, smiling,

 

“No need to apologize, darling. Thank you, that was really quite helpful. We would have never thought to check here.”

 

Kevin blushed at the praise but gave a bright smile, shaking his head faintly.

 

“Oh, no trouble, happy to help…” he glanced between them, curiously,

 

“Um…so, what was it doing in there, anyways? Where you working a cold case or something?”

 

They exchanged a look, Finally Alec shrugged slightly, before addressing Kevin.

 

“Well…honestly we don’t know.”

 

Kevin tilted his head,

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Magnus sighed, shaking his head,

 

“The truth is, Raphael, Alexander, Isabelle and I have no memory of yesterday. We believe someone slipped us something.”

 

Kevin gasped, eyes wide, glancing at the four of them.

 

“ _Seriously?_ Oh my god, are you all alright?”

 

Magnus gave him a reassuring smile, nodding,

 

“Thank you for the concern, darling, but we are fine, though quite confused…oh by the way, this is Isabelle Lightwood, I don’t believe you two have met. She is our medical examiner, as well as Alexander’s sister.”

 

He smiled brightly, reaching forward, shaking her hand enthusiastically.

 

“Hi, Ms. Lightwood, er…doctor Lightwood? It’s very nice to meet you. I’m Kevin, or Officer Teagan, either is fine. I just transferred to this precinct, thanks to a good word to the chief from Magnus and your brother.”

 

She chuckled.

 

“Technically it is Doctor…but please, call me Izzy. It’s nice to meet you, too, Kevin. You helped on the case at my parents, right?”

 

He nodded quickly,

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

She gave him a warm smile,

 

“Max told me about you; he said you were a lot of help and really great during the whole interview with my parents. I know that wasn’t exactly a picnic. Thank you for all your help.”

 

He blushed brighter,

 

“Oh, I-it was nothing…just doing my job. Alec and the others did all the hard work, I just kind of stood on the sidelines.

 

They’re really amazing…

 

B-but thank you.”

 

Alec huffed slightly, clearly just barely keeping from rolling his eyes, blushing faintly.

 

She beamed, slipping her arm around Kevin casually.

 

“ _Aww_ , you are so cute…you definitely need to stick around.”

 

He flushed brightly,

 

“O-oh, t-t-that’s umm…thank you, M-doc-Uh…Izzy…but umm…”

 

She laughed, rolling her eyes,

 

“Dude, chill; when I say cute, I mean in an adorable, puppy, platonic, no romantic interest whatsoever kind of way.

 

 I have about as much interest in guys as Alec has in girls.”

 

He gave a sigh of relief,

 

“ _Oh, thank god!_ Uh…sorry…just-”

 

She rolled her eyes again, ruffling his hair,

 

“Yeah, we’re totally keeping you.” she nodded determinedly, turning to face the others, keeping her arm around Kevin.

 

“Alright, so Kev…where did you find Magnus’s phone?”

 

He seemed slightly thrown by the sudden friendliness but adjusted quickly, shrugging.

 

“In the box over there, for a theft from ‘08”

 

They all moved over to the shelf, Alec pulled the box; they looked in it curiously…

 

The case was a museum robbery, three decorative, jeweled daggers from India, as well as an ancient shield from Scotland, and a broad sword from Prussia were stolen from a traveling exhibit, when they were on loan for the show.

 

They never had any real leads…all they found were a few odd symbols left around the cases and a note saying the artifacts were cultural heritage and belonged to the people, and they would be returned to their rightful homes.

 

No one ever found the culprits, and no one ever found the artifacts.

 

“Huh…” Magnus said curiously

 

“Oh, that is interesting…” Raphael murmured, leaning closer, looking over a few of the photos.

 

“What?” Alec asked

 

Magnus glanced up at him,

 

“Well, the symbols are quite similar to the ones at the Lawary scene…or at least they were made to look like them. However the ones in this case were clear and precise; whoever made them knew what they were and what message they were sending.

 

At the Lawary’s they were hastily made and quite amateurish. It appears that these may have been made to resemble this case.

 

Maybe that’s why we were looking into the symbols?”

 

Alec nodded,

 

“Okay, so, the thief is someone who’s familiar with this case…but not so much as to actually know how to make the symbols.”

 

Izzy shook her head

 

“Well, that’s really interesting, and might help with the case…but not so much with us recovering our memories…”

 

Raphael shrugged

 

“True. However, if we were working the case, that could help us retrace our steps and maybe find out what the hell happened yesterday, and how we ended up losing our memories.”

 

“Umm…so, do you guys have any other clues?” Kevin asked curiously

 

Alec huffed, shaking his head

 

“Yeah, but none that really make sense…

 

We found a bunch of new clothes, that they apparently picked out for me, both mine and Izzy’s blankets, along with nearly every other blanket in Magnus and Raphael’s apartment were dragged out into the living room and made into a blanket fort. Simon tried to call us when his plane arrived, but couldn’t get a hold of anyone. We found out why; Izzy’s phone was in the oven, Magnus’s was here, mine is at Pandemonium, and Raphael’s is at our brother Jace’s place.

 

A friend of Magnus’s made a tea that she said would help us recover our memories, but to get it going quicker we need to retrace our steps…

 

Which is kinda hard, since we don’t know where we went.” He shrugged, faintly.

 

“Huh…that is odd.” He thought for a minute, glancing over at Magnus.

 

“Are there any new photos or anything on your phone, something that might help?”

 

Magnus shook his head,

 

“I looked, no new pictures…We’ll except for the one Izzy sent me…but I was quite expecting THAT one.” he winked at Izzy before turning back to the group.

 

Alec blushed, huffing slightly,

 

“Well…” Simon started,

 

 “We found Magnus and Izzy’s phones; we still need to get Alec’s and Raphael’s. Alec being at Pandemonium is odd, but going by the picture we know why he went there…I really can’t think of a reason Raphael would go to Jace’s.”

 

Kevin tilted his head curiously,

 

“Why is that so odd? You and Alec are friends…why wouldn’t you hang out with his brother?”

 

Raphael gave a short bark of laughter,

 

“Because he is a loud, pompous, self absorbed, obnoxious, jackass and hits on anything with a pulse?”

 

His eyes widened,

 

“That bad, huh?”

 

He nodded, rolling his eyes,

 

Alec shook his head, laughing slightly,

 

“He’s not _that_ bad.”

 

“Yeah he is.” Simon, Magnus, and Izzy chorused, perfectly in sync.

 

Alec shrugged,

 

“Okay, yeah, he kind of is...

 

Alright, so, Raphael hanging out at Jace’s is the weirdest thing we have as of yet-”

 

“Hey! There is no evidence of that…I’m still going with he stole my phone.” Raphael interrupted.

 

The others chuckled, Alec raised an eyebrow,

 

“Usually I would say he didn’t, but it would make more sense than you just randomly going over to his place…why don’t we head over and find out?”

 

They nod in agreement.

 

“Umm…hey…do you think I can come along? I’m off shift now; I might be able to help? An extra pair of eyes couldn’t hurt, right?” Kevin asked hopefully.

 

They all share a glance, before shrugging,

 

Finally Raphael turns to him with a faint smirk,

 

“Sure, why not…It’s about a 20 minute drive to his house from here. That should give you enough time to come up with a way to turn Jace down…”

 

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like Kevin…he’s definitely sticking around.
> 
> At least Simon finally got a chapter…I couldn’t just leave him out. I do like him being worried about the others.
> 
> What do you guys think?


	5. Jace Finally Gets a Clue (Had to Happen Sometime)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group (With Kevin in tow) go to Jace’s to find out what the hell happened…
> 
> The biggest question? Who gets to kill him…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> Yes, I know that’s kinda a lot of fully grown adults for one vehicle, just go with it, kay?
> 
>  

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

_Okay, so at some point they need to actually get answers, rather than just more questions, right?_

 

_Eventually things really should start making some semblance of sense..._

 

_Right?_

 

Alec shook his head faintly as they pulled into the driveway. Both Izzy and Raphael’s cars were there. So Raphael’s theory Jace stole his phone was kinda losing traction, unless he _also_ stole his car…

_Which, once again, might actually make more sense than Raphael willingly hanging out at Jace’s place._

“Well, we said that wherever my car was is most likely where we realized what was going on…though being dosed with something might actually explain me coming here…” Raphael said, glancing around disdainfully.

 

They all clambered out of the car, making their way to the door. Raphael stopped by the car, peering in…

 

“Well, I found my phone.” he said, gesturing in the window.

 

“You said Alec and maybe the rest of you were at Pandemonium, I don’t think it’s too far from here… maybe that’s where it happened?” Kevin posited.

 

“Okay, so when we realized it, this could have been the closest place?” Izzy suggested, shrugging.

 

The others nodded consideringly as they reached the door, Alec knocking abruptly. It was quiet for a moment, then they heard movement, the lock being flipped and the door opened.

 

Jace glanced over them, giving a slightly sheepish look, before startling when he saw Kevin, switching to a smooth, charming smirk…

 

“Oh, hey again.”

 

Kevin groaned, shaking his head, rolling his eyes,

 

“Ugh…really? _Wait_ …” he trailed off, glancing in shock at the others then focuses in on Alec, jabbing his thumb towards Jace,

 

“ _This_ is your obnoxious, totally full of himself, loudmouth brother that hits on anything that moves?!”

 

“Hey!” Jace snapped

 

Alec raised his eyebrow,

 

“Uh…yeah? I take it you met?”

 

Kevin nodded,

 

“Yeah, when I was helping on your parent’s case, when I made the lunch run? I almost knocked him over.”

 

“When he hit on you? Makes sense.” Raphael nodded, smirking,

 

Kevin shook his head,

 

“No, before that…then I apologized, and he kept hitting on me. I don’t think I have to come up with something to say…I already told him off once.”

 

Simon chuckled, eyes widening slightly,

 

“ _You_ told Alec’s brother off?” he asked surprised

 

Kevin blushed faintly, shrugging,

 

“Well, yeah…kinda…he said something about having a brother at the precinct, but I really didn’t know if it was the truth or just a line as I was in uniform and it seemed awful convenient.

 

I tried to ignore him but he just could _not_ take the hint. I kind of snapped at him and told him off in front of an entire line of customers. Sorry, Alec.” he finished sheepishly,

 

Alec shook his head, chuckling,

 

“Hey, it’s fine…despite evidence to the contrary he _is_ an adult, he can take some rejection.”

 

“I think this means you are officially part of our group. Pretty sure being hit on and annoyed by Jace is a prerequisite…” Raphael chuckled, smirking.

 

Kevin looked surprised,

 

“Yeah, you too?”

 

Raphael gave a bark of laughter,

 

“Oh yeah…first thing he said to me was a line, trying to impress me with his ‘show’. I let him make an idiot of himself, called him out on said idiocy and shut him down completely…oh, I also kind of threatened to break his arm if he didn’t remove his hand from my shoulder…

 

Then Simon came in and kissed me right in front of him.”

 

Kevin’s eyes widened, he gave a surprised laugh glancing over at Simon, raising his eyebrow questioningly.

 

Simon nodded,

 

“Yeah, he was pretty confused since I’d been telling him for the last two years I was straight…”

 

Kevin laughed loudly,

 

_“Really?”_

 

He nodded again,

 

“ _Hey!_ You guys don’t have to tell him all that!” Jace interrupted, glaring at the two of them, before turning back to Kevin, once again putting on the flirty smile.

 

“Hi, I’m Jace Wayland. And you are?”

 

“Officer Teagan…and...Not even _remotely_ interested." he said coolly, raising his eyebrow obviously unimpressed.

 

Jace looked completely shocked, before turning back to the others.

 

They tried to contain a laugh…

 

_Well, at least Alec and Izzy did, the other’s not so much._

 

“S-sorry, Jace…don’t think it’s gonna happen.” Alec chuckled, shaking his head before sobering somewhat.

 

“Umm…So, we were actually trying to figure out something. Do you know how Izzy and Raphael’s cars ended up here?”

 

He seemed confused by that, tilting his head.

 

“Uh…yeah? They drove here…I was having a get together with some of the people for the show, you guys stopped by to talk to someone from the props department…Kept asking questions about how some of the different things were made.

 

It was really awkward…and you were all kinda tense from their argument.”

 

They all looked between each other,

 

“Who’s argument?” Alec asked

 

Jace quirked his eyebrow,

 

“Uh…Magnus and Izzy?”

 

The two in question looked at each other in shock,

 

“What? Why on earth would we be arguing?” Magnus asked, looking at Izzy curiously

 

She shrugged, just as perplexed,

 

“You got me.”

 

Jace started to look a bit nervous, glancing between them…

 

“Y-You guys really don’t remember?”

 

They shook their heads,

 

“We believe someone dosed us with something…since Raphael left his car here we are assuming that when we got here is where we realized something was wrong…” Magnus began, but trailed off, looking over Jace’s increasingly guilty expression.

 

Raphael caught it too, he shifted, threateningly, raising an eyebrow…losing any trace of humor.

 

“Jace…what do you know?” he asked, in a dangerously quiet tone…

 

Alec stepped forward slightly; ready just in case, Kevin took a few steps back for the same reason ( _no way he was getting in the middle of that.)_

Jace’s eyes widened slightly, he took a slight step back…

 

“Uhh…w-well…see, you guys were really bringing the whole room down…”

 

Alec turned to him…

 

_Yeah, maybe he’d just step out of Raphael’s way...and Izzy’s, and Magnus’s…_

_**And** _ _Simon’s…_

 

“Are you kidding me? YOU slipped us something?” he demanded, stepping closer, almost threateningly.

 

_Causing him and Magnus to maybe…_

_Okay, one of them might need to get in HIS way…_

 

Jace shook his head frantically, eyes wide,

 

“NO! Well…not me, exactly…”

 

“So one of your ‘friends’” Magnus asked, tone remarkably close to Raphaels.

 

Jace nodded faintly…

 

“Y-yeah…I didn’t know he was doing it, but it wasn’t anything dangerous… just herbs and crap…it was just supposed to relax you, get you guys to stop being so tense and snappy…that’s all…”

 

“Who?” Izzy demanded, folding her arms

 

“Meliorn, but h-”

 

“ _Meliorn?_ That stoner, hippy guy from high school? _What the hell, Jace?_ How could you let him do that?”

 

“I didn’t know! And he assured me it wasn’t anything dangerous…it was just supposed to relax you. I even took you guys all over to the apartment and took their keys so they couldn’t drive. I took care of everything. Izzy even made me stop at your guys’ places to get your blankets and stuff…

 

It was fine…it was supposed to be fine!”

 

 _“Well it wasn’t!”_ Alec snapped, glaring at him, furious,

 

Jace rolled his eyes,

 

“Okay, I know it was stupid, but it was okay. I made sure you all were safe, I don’t know what happened but you were all at the apartment, how bad could it have been? What could have happened?”

 

“ _What the hell do you mean ‘it couldn’t have been too bad?!_

 

We are missing an entire DAY; we woke up today not knowing what the hell happened to us, only knowing that someone drugged us. We have been running in circles trying to figure out what happened!”

 

“Okay, but like I said, you were all there, so it was fine, you were all at Magnus’s, what could have happened?”

 

 _“Magnus and I may have slept together and don’t even **remember** it!”_ he snapped

 

Jace huffed, shrugging,

 

“Yeah, alright, so you woke up in bed with your boyfriend, what’s the big deal? Not like it’s the first time…”

 

“Yes…it was.” Magnus said quietly.

 

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

_Really…Alec had **two** other siblings…that was plenty, right?_

_He didn’t really NEED this one as well…_

_He was, like, a spare…_

_Right?_

_If this jackass screwed up things between Magnus and Alec…if this really hurts them…_

He takes a deep breath, trying to keep a level head, and not think of all the things he could do to completely destroy Jace…

 

He’d get back to that later…

 

Jace rolled his eyes, huffing slightly,

 

He clenched his fist, clamping his jaw closed so hard it was bordering on painful.

_Later…_

 

“Oh come on, you guys have been together for months, of course it’s not the ‘first time’.”

 

“Yes it was, you Jackass...” Izzy snapped angrily, stepping forward, clenching her own fists.

 

“They are _not_ together…they have told you countless times, they have told **_everyone_** countless times, but you are just too clueless, self absorbed, and have your head too far up your own ass to figure it out!

 

They are _not_ together, they have never been together, and because **_you_** are such a self centered, insecure _imbecile_ , more concerned with your god damn party than your own SIBLINGS health and safety, you, _and you alone_ , may have screwed up everything.

 

I really hope your party was worth it.”

 

_Wow…He didn’t realize he liked this girl so much…_

 

Jace looked totally shocked at the venom in her tone; he shook his head frantically, eyes wide,

 

“But Mel-”

 

She stepped forward cutting him off, he hastily stumbled back.

 

_Raphael made a mental note to invite Izzy along with them more often…_

 

_He really liked this girl._

“ _No_. No more excuses. I do not give a damn who actually did it. It was _your_ friend at **_your_** party…it is YOUR god damn responsibility. You are _twenty eight years old_ , I am SO sick of you trying to blame everything on everyone else. Nothing is your fault, nothing is your responsibility, everything’s fine, it’s okay, no big deal.

 

Just stop. You’re getting **_way_** too old for it. You’re almost thirty years old; it is time you grew up.

 

 It’s just pathetic at this point.

 

Your ‘friend’ drugged four people at your party. That is not ‘nothing’, that is not ‘fine’, that is a god damn **_felony_**.”

 

_Would it break the tension too much if he clapped? That felt like it deserved applause._

 

Jace shook his head slightly, looking over them… _really_ seeing what it had done.

 

Simon looked furious, no trace of his usual humor or lightness.

 

Izzy looked like she was just barely keeping from lashing out physically, taught, tense, ready to strike.

 

Magnus’s eyes seemed shuttered, no humor, no smirk, nothing…it was as if he was facing down a perp…like he didn’t even know him (or didn’t want to know him)

 

_And Alec…_

Alec looked angry, but more than that, he looked completely betrayed; his expression that of total disappointment, like Jace had completely let him down.

 

Jace gulped slightly, shaking his head, looking at all of them, before settling back on Alec.

 

He stepped forward, slightly, hesitantly.

 

“Alec…I-I’m sorry I didn’t know.”

 

Alec just shook his head, looking away from him. Magnus moved next to him, slipping his arm around Alec reassuringly. He sighed faintly, mimicking the gesture automatically, hugging him close.

 

“I am so sorry guys…is there anything I can do?”

 

“Pretty sure you did enough, _thanks._ ” Simon snapped, glaring at him before turning back to his closest friends, concerned.

 

Jace seemed taken aback at that, from Simon no less.

 

Magnus finally glanced away from Alec, leveling Jace with a cold, calculating look that he usually reserved for facing down suspects and close-minded, bigoted cops.

 

“You actually want to help?  Perhaps you can help us figure out what all happened to us after you left us at the apartment. We did not stay there; we have no idea where all we went, or what happened.

 

As we were not in our right minds, it really is anyone’s guess what could have happened to us… it is proving to be quite the mystery…

 

Maybe you can help with THAT.”

 

Once again, Jace looked shocked; he shook his head faintly…

 

  
“I-b-but I took your keys…I tried to-”

 

“Well, you didn’t try hard enough…we got out, and now we’re trying to find out everything that happened after that.” Alec cut him off

 

Jace nodded faintly,

 

“Yeah…of course I will…”

 

He glanced back at Alec again, one more time,

 

“Alec…I really am sorry.”

 

Alec shrugged

 

“I’m sure you are.” he said flatly before turning to the others.

 

“Well…we know how we got drugged…now we need to figure out what exactly happened after that.

 

We have a lot of people looking at this…we should look at everything we have so far…maybe we need to split up, cover more ground?”

 

They all nodded,

 

“Alright…Jace said it was some kinds of herbs…Me, Magnus and Izzy will go back to Clary’s shop, see if she knows anything that might have caused this…if we can find what it was maybe we can speed up the process.” He paused, glancing over at Raphael, shrugging faintly,

 

“Raphael? Would you mind if you, Simon and Kevin stay here and go over whatever he can remember…see if you can find out anything else?” he asked hopefully, glancing at the three.

 

Raphael glanced at the others, they nodded faintly,

 

“Of course, no problem. We’ll let you know of any developments”

 

Alec nodded, relieved, giving them a faint smile,

 

“Thanks, we’ll do the same.”

 

With that he turned on heel, heading out the door, Magnus and Izzy following suit. He pulled the door too with a bit more force than necessary, the sound reverberating around the now silent room.

 

_Jace looked at a total loss, staring at the door, completely dumbfounded…_

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I know they were kind of harsh on Jace, but, seriously his friend _drugged_ them…that’s not just a ‘my bad’ kinda thing…he needed something to wake him up.
> 
> I know Magnus and Alec have more cause to go at him, however, they were the ones who this had the most significant effect…they are kind of freaking out…
> 
> I like Izzy, Raphael, and Simon jumping to their defense.
> 
> (Have I mentioned I LOVE Izzy…I think we need to have an adventure with Izzy and Raphael paring up for something…imagine the chaos!)
> 
> Hey! I have a somewhat short chapter!
> 
> Anyways what do you guys think so far?


	6. Divide And Conquer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group decides to split up to speed up the investigation (That, or Alec needs a break from Jace before he says or does something he’ll regret).
> 
>  

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 “I don’t know, it just doesn’t make sense…” Jace started again.

 

Raphael sighed, rolling his eyes…once again regretting agreeing to stay with the moron…

 

Okay, he got that he was Alec’s brother and, at the moment, about the last person Alec wanted to see, yet they still needed to find out if he had any info that might be helpful …

 

It could help them recover their memories… solve the mystery of what happened the night before. It was a favor for Alec, who had somehow became one of his best friends when he wasn’t paying attention…

 

It would help Magnus…

 

Simon would stop worrying what happened to them…

 

_Crap…he had to put up with the jackass…_

_At least for the time being…_

“ **What** does not make sense?” He snapped through gritted teeth.

 

“ _Magnus and Alec!_ I thought for sure they’d been sleeping together for months…

 

I mean, it was SO obvious…”

 

Kevin gave a faint shrug,

 

“Well…maybe they’re just taking it slow…what’s wrong with that?”

 

Jace shook his head,

“Yeah, okay, fine, but slow is like, a month…Magnus and Alec have known each other for almost a year! That’s not slow…that-that’s just ridiculous…

 

Who would wait THAT long?”

 

Kevin quirked his eyebrow at that, shaking his head faintly,

 

“Wow…” he muttered

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing…” he said quickly, turning back to the task at hand,

 

Raphael chuckled faintly…

 

_Jace was just batting a thousand with this guy…_

 

He really was quite glad the kid wasn’t too disappointed learning Magnus and Alec weren’t actually together (As of yet)…he knew how much the guy admired them as well as their relationship….

 

_Damnit...what the hell happened? He never used to be this soft…concerned with ‘emotions’ and ‘empathy’ and all that crap…_

_He blamed Simon…Being all adorable and making him fall stupidly in love without even trying…_

_Making him actually care…_

_Ugh…_

He shook his head slightly before turning back to the search. They were currently trying to go through the disaster that Jace called a living room.

 

Jace hadn’t been able to remember what exactly this Meliorn guy said he gave them, but after much prodding (and glaring and threats) he remembered the dude actually tried to explain it once more to Jace after he got back from driving them home.

_Tried_ being the operative word…

 

Finally he gave up on that...He’d actually wrote out on a napkin everything he used and what it was for _…(Clearly he knew Jace well)._

 

He remembered Meliorn saying it almost never had side-effects but just in case he wanted Jace to know what it all was. He’d told Jace to put it in a safe place since he was catching a redeye at 2am and would be out of the country for the next month…some kind of holistic, spiritual retreat, so he would be completely out of contact.

 

Raphael didn’t know about this Meliorn guy…though it was probably for the best that he was out of town till they got this all sorted out.

 

“I just don’t get it…” Jace muttered again,

 

Raphael stifled a groan, raising his eyebrow instead…

 

 “What? Just because they flirt? So what? People flirt…doesn’t necessarily mean anything”

 

_Yeah okay, so Magnus and Alec were totally together, they just didn’t actually realize it. However, seeing as regardless of how angry Alec and Izzy were with Jace they probably wouldn’t condone_ **_actual_ ** _physical violence against the jackass,_

_Confusing, baiting, and tormenting him was the next best thing…_

_Hey, if he had to be stuck with the imbecile he may as well be entertained…_

Jace rolled his eyes at that, scoffing.

“Oh, come on…it does too. You know it as well as I do. Who flirts if they’re not trying to get someone in bed?”

 

Both Raphael and Simon burst out laughing.

 

 _“Raphael”_ Simon says between laughs

Jace glanced at him in confusion,

 

“Huh?”

 

Raphael chuckled again, shrugging, raising an eyebrow,

 

“I flirt with people all the time; doesn’t mean I ‘want’ them. The only thing it means is I ‘want’ something from them, I ‘want’ them distracted, or I ‘want’ them out of my way.”

 

He looks from Raphael back to Simon in shock,

 

“What? And that doesn’t bother you, your boyfriend flirting all the time?”

 

Simon shook his head,

 

“Not at all. I love him, I trust him, that’s kinda just part of who he is…

 

And besides, it’s not like I have to worry about him cheating on me or anything.” He said quirking a smile at Raphael.

 

He laughed loudly, nodding

 

Jace looked totally confused, even more so than usual.

 

“And you’re so sure of that because?”

 

Raphael raised his eyebrow…

 

“Because I’m a good boyfriend, because I love him, and I’d never hurt him like that…

 

Also, I’m Asexual…”

 

Kevin looked at him in surprise,

 

“You are?” he asked curiously, brightening somewhat.

 

Raphael nodded,

 

“Uhh…isn’t that, like, a plant or something?” Jace asked baffled,

 

All three of the others groaned loudly.

 

“Oh my god…” Kevin muttered, covering his eyes, shaking his head.

 

“No…I am not now, nor have I ever been, a plant.” Raphael said deadpan.

 

“But wh-”

 

“Asexual means you don’t feel sexual attraction…that’s it.

 

Beyond that it can mean different things to different people…it is a spectrum.

 

Being Ace doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t want a relationship, or that you don’t find people aesthetically attractive, or pretty much anything else. It just means none of that translates to ‘I really want to sleep with that person’.

 

Sex just isn’t a need.”

 

 Simon cut him off, giving the standard explanation. Raphael shot him a grateful smile…explaining really did get old.

“I…but…what? You’re dating Simon…you two sle-”

 

“ _Our_ relationship is none of _your_ business.” Simon said sharply, effectively stopping Jace’s line of questioning cold.

 

He started at the tone, clamping his jaw shut with an audible click.

 

Raphael chuckled, raising his eyebrow slightly, impressed.

 

Simon shrugged, flashing him a smile and quick wink.

 

Raphael’s heartbeat picked up a tic.

 

_He loved seeing the sassy side of Simon…this…this was kind of a newer one…he’d seen it at the school and a few other times…_

_The protective, strong, authoritative thing…_

_It was different…_

_Exciting…_

Once again he wondered just how he got so lucky. Simon really was everything he could ever want.

 

He shook his head, kind of coming out of his thoughts; he started slightly, seeing Kevin giving them a bright, somewhat awestruck grin, like he did with Alec.

 

“Umm…wh-” he began, before it clicked,

 

Raphael’s eyes widened, he tilted his head curiously,

 

“Wait… _You_?”

 

“Kinda.” Kevin shrugged, blushing faintly,

 

Simon gasped slightly, eyes bright,

 

_“Seriously?”_

 

He nodded faintly, giving a slight laugh.

 

“Huh?” Jace asked, totally bewildered looking between the three, before settling back on Kevin, tilting his head curiously.

 

“You what?” he asked with a flirty smile,

 

Simon and Raphael burst out laughing uncontrollably.

 

Jace startled, totally lost by the sudden change in their mood.

 

He looked over at Kevin for a clue, trying to figure it out, only to see he was just barely keeping in a laugh himself.

 

“What did I miss?”

 

“A lot, clearly.” Raphael said, still trying to get his laughter under control, before turning back to Kevin with a smile.

 

“So, you’re Ace, too?”

 

He gave a bit of a nod, bouncing slightly on his heels.

 

“Well, technically I’m demisexual, but pretty much, yeah…”

 

_Jace felt like he was on a different planet…he wasn’t following any of this…maybe_ **_he_ ** _got slipped something…_

“Uhh…What’s that mean?”

 

Raphael gave a short surprised laugh, shaking his head,

 

 “It means you don’t have a chance in hell with him…”

 

Kevin chuckled slightly, shaking his head,

 

“Demisexual means I’m only attracted to someone after I get to know them and have formed a strong emotional connection…”

 

Raphael nodded

 

“So in other words you have to win him over with your personality first. like I said, no chance in hell.” he shook his head, still chuckling  faintly, turning from Jace’s dumbstruck look, all but dismissing him, refocusing on the search.

 

Kevin and Simon followed suit.

 

_Jace just stood there in confusion, feeling that the entire world was suddenly on its head and wondering, once again, if_ **_he_ ** _was actually slipped something and this was, in fact, all a bizarre hallucination…_

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 “I just can’t believe it… _my own brother!_ What the hell?”

 

Alec shook his head, yet again…he knew he should be more focused on the task at hand, or relieved that it wasn’t some nefarious plan or the like…that they didn’t get drugged by someone planning on doing them harm…

 

_But still…_

_His own damn brother?!_

Clary shook her head,

 

“Man, I am _**so**_ sorry guys…I can’t believe he’d just let something like that happen…like it was nothing…what a total ass- _umm_ …

 

I mean…” she trailed off blushing guiltily.

 

Izzy gave a surprised laugh,

 

“No, you’re right, he’s a jackass…he’s **our** Jackass…and by the end of this he will be a _VERY_ sorry jackass…

 

But still…he is our family…for better or worse…”

 

Clary gave a slight laugh,

 

Izzy casually slipped her arm around her shoulders,

 

“I’m pretty sure _this_ would be the ‘worse’.”

 

 _“GOD I hope so!”_ Alec blurted, aghast,

 

The other three burst out laughing…

 

Alec tried to keep a straight face, but couldn’t quite keep in a faint chuckle. He shook his head, somewhat bewildered…

 

“Why am I laughing? _I’m still pissed!_ My own brother drugged me, my sister and my two best friends just because he thought we were bringing down his party! We have a brother who is a freaking teenager; he wouldn’t do anything that stupid! Neither would any of his friends… _and one of them think their school janitor is a Bigfoot!_

 

 _Do you have any idea how stupid and ridicules something has to be for_ ** _teenagers_** _to find it too insane!?”_ he shook his head again, running out of steam.

 

Magnus laughed brightly, slipping his arm around Alec’s waist, leaning up slightly, kissing him on the cheek. He slid his other hand up Alec’s arm, resting it on his bicep, squeezing slightly.

“Sweetheart…I think you may just be relieved it wasn’t something worse. I know how you are: you always focus on the worst case scenario, you have been going round all the reasons someone would drug a person…none of them are good.

 

Honestly, this is probably the best possible outcome.

 

I am not saying you need to forgive him right now or in any way making light of what he did. It was stupid, and selfish, and, really just a jackass move all around. But there was no malicious intent…just stupidity and a bit of selfishness.

 

 At least now we know…

 

It is the first solid fact we have had, as of late, that is something. We know who did it, as well as where and what time it happened. We also know approximately what time Jace dropped us off back at the apartment.

 

We are starting to get a timeline established,

 

The first place we know for sure is here…we arrived at 12:30…talked to Clary about the symbols.

 

You signed into the cold case room at 2:27…which means we more than likely made at least one stop between the two.

 

You signed out at 3:34…

 

I had sent a few texts after that…nothing significant, a birthday greeting to Rangor, a few texts to Cat, and other random things…but that means I had my phone still at that time.

 

Which means we went back to the precinct sometime later, after we were dosed…which… as none of us had any messages from the chief, likely means we went unnoticed…which is probably for the best.

 

The last text I sent was at 9:24 and was just a series of emojis to the pizza place on 12th…

 

Once again, not important, save for the timeline…

 

…we were back at the apartment right around 8…we went to three clothing stores…one we left at 9:47, the next at 10:14 and the last receipt said 11:22…they are fairly close to the apartment. We could have walked as it is only a few blocks, about a 12-15 minute walk…at least when you are sober.

 

Four people, rather out of it and probably not in any particular hurry, maybe 30-40 minutes tops…

 

Pandemonium is a 20 minute drive in the opposite direction…though it was a Saturday night, traffic was probably pretty busy, so we could round that up to 30…

 

That would put us getting there probably no earlier than midnight.

 

None of us had our keys, or the faculties to drive…and in the state we were in walking would have taken hours. We must have called for a car. I checked my account but haven’t had any charges for one…we should check yours as well…

 

Though I suppose we could have paid cash…Raph does that when possible…less of a trail.”

 

He rolled his eyes affectionately, pausing, glancing at the others…

 

Izzy looked slightly dumbstruck by the torrent of information…she wasn’t used to being around Magnus when he was actually working a case, not this part at least.

 

Alec shook his head, relieved. He slipped his arm around Magnus, tugging him a bit closer, against his side, hugging him for just a moment. He took a deep breath…feeling like he was on solid ground for the first time today.

 

_Magnus was good…he was back…They’d figure this out._

“I really love it when you do that.” he murmured

 

Magnus gave a soft laugh, leaning into his side, nestling closer…

 

“Oh, you do?” he teased lightly,

 

Alec smiled, nodding

 

 The moment was broken when Magnus phone buzzed with a text, startling them both. They jumped apart, both faintly blushing, glancing away from each other…

 

“Yeah, well, Alec may like it, but I think it’s creepy as hell. I may need to get something to block psychic... _whatever_ ” Izzy muttered, still blinking at the torrent of words.

 

Clary brightened,

 

“Oh! I have something for that!” she chirped, moving across the store

 

Izzy raised her eyebrow, following along curiously,

 

“And it works?”

 

Clary turned facing her walking backwards a bit, shrugging, giving a slightly impish smile…

 

“Well…it is supposed to…it has amethyst, crimson quartz, and black tourmaline, which are for protection. Plus, it’s one of my favorites, I just finished it a few days ago, I haven’t even put it out yet.” she stopped at one of the jewelry counters, stooping down, opening a small storage area under it, pulling out a pretty, shimmering necklace on a simple black leather chord.

 

It had an assortment of smooth black and violet pearl like beads strung on it, in the center was a red crystal that looked like it was cut to resemble a rose.

 

“Wow” Izzy gasped breathlessly

 

She reached forward, lightly brushing her finger against the crystal rose…

 

“It’s beautiful.” she said softly

 

Clary blushed faintly,

 

“Thank you.”

 

She glanced up hopefully,

 

“You can have it.”

 

Izzy shook her head,

 

“Oh, no…I-I couldn’t do that.” she said, regretfully

 

Clary shrugged,

 

“I’d really like you to…like I said, it’s one of my favorites…I wouldn’t sell it…I’d like someone special to have it.”

 

Izzy blushed faintly,

 

“I’m special?” she asked, teasingly

 

“Yes…very.”

 

Izzy blushed more, nodding faintly, tugging her hair to the side.

 

“O-Okay…can you put it on me?”

 

Clary beamed, nodding, reaching up, slipping her arms around Izzy’s neck to fasten it.

 

At this point Izzy’s blush was about as red as Clary’s hair…

 

Alec shook his head…

 

_He’d never seen Izzy that caught up so quickly. He hoped he never looked so completely besotted over someone…_

He glanced away, catching sight of Magnus, and felt his breath catch…

 

 He had a wonderfully warm, soft expression.

 

Alec felt his cheeks heat faintly, and just barely managed to keep in a sigh…

 

_Ah, hell…_

“Ahem” he cleared his throat, shaking his head,

 

“S-so, uh…Magnus…What’d your text say?”

 

“Wha- _Oh!_ I completely forgot…thank you darling” Magnus grinned, pulling out his phone, glancing down…

 

He froze, eyes widening…

 

Alec tilted his head,

 

“What?”

 

“I believe I know where your suit ended up…” he said with a slight laugh,

 

He turned the screen so Alec could see…

 

_**Dot: Magnus? Why is there a crossbow wrapped in a men’s suit in the office at the club?** _

__

##  **_ Flashback:  _ **

****

_They are at the club…it’s dark, the music’s loud, lights flashing, it’s jarring and disorienting, there are people everywhere, way too close, usually he would hate this, but he doesn’t care, right now they barely even register._

_He reaches over, slipping his arm around Magnus, pulling him in closer, until he is flush against Alec’s body, his hands trailing down, resting low on his hips, grasping him tightly._

_Magnus gives a pleased hum, Alec nuzzles close, nips lightly at his earlobe, before kissing just a bit lower, sucking and nipping lightly…it’ll probably leave a mark… he hoped it did. Magnus presses back against him, groaning slightly, he reaches up, resting his hand at the back of his neck, tugging Alec in closer, eagerly._

_He turns in Alec’s arms, slides his hands up Alec’s body, over his chest, winding around his neck, burying one hand in his hair, pulling him down for a hot, frantic kiss._

 

Alec startles, gasping, blinking a few times in shock.

 

The others are staring at him in concern.

 

“What is it darling?” Magnus asks gently, resting his hand on his arm again.

 

Alec flushes brightly, shaking his head,

 

“Uh, n-nothing…I, umm…I think Clary’s tea is starting to work. I kind of remember us at the club.”

 

Magnus gasped slightly,

 

“Oh! That’s wonderful news! Maybe now we will begin to make progress…

 

Was it anything interesting?”

 

Alec blushes brighter, glancing away, scratching at his neck…

 

“Umm…wel-uhh…I-I mean, n-no…nothing useful anyways. I-it was kind of fuzzy, I think we were dancing, so like I said not really anything useful…but it’s a start…maybe the others will be more helpful.” he stammers out quickly.

 

Magnus tilted his head curiously, but shrugged, nodding

 

“Perhaps it will…in the meantime maybe we should head over there and see what we can find out, as well as retrieve your phone…

 

And apparently find out how we ended up stashing a crossbow wrapped in your old suit in the office at the club.”

 

 _“Wait, what!?”_ Izzy asked, rushing closer, Clary close behind, looking on inquisitively.

 

Magnus shrugged, showing them the text from dot.

 

Izzy read it, eyes widening faintly,

 

“Oookay…well…good news we solved the case and found the crossbow…or…we stole a random crossbow from somewhere thinking it was the one for the case…”

 

“Well, let’s go find out, shall we?” Magnus asked grinning excitedly.

 

Izzy and Clary nodded eagerly,

 

“I’ll text the others to meet us there.” Izzy said, already getting out her phone.

 

“And I’ll get my shoes on and lock up…no way am I sitting this out.” Clary interjected, already rushing around grabbing a satchel type bag and a pair of black sandals with little silver stars decorating them.

 

Izzy, Magnus and Clary hurried for the door,

 

Alec trailed behind; still lost in the vivid realness of the memory…

 

  _Damn, if that’s what a memory of them just_ ** _dancing_** _felt like, he really didn’t know if he could handle more ‘memories’…_

_At least none when he was surrounded by people…_

_And Magnus…_

_And his SISTER…_

_**Oh hell…** _

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I know a good chunk of this turned into a lecture on Asexuality, but it kind of occurred to me that not everyone reading these may know_ _what that means so I thought a bit of an explanation couldn’t hurt (so long as it fit into the storyline)._
> 
> _Might be a bit late, as I already have two established Ace characters, but better late than never…_
> 
> _(I know that’s kinda a lot of Ace characters…but now all I can think of is I need one more so I can have 4 aces, because it makes me giggle and I would find that unbelievably entertaining…)_
> 
> _Okay, okay, I know we’re picking on Jace a lot, but it’s not like his ego can’t take it…as of yet he’s kinda a shallow, self absorbed shmuk… I’d like to give him a chance to grow…but in order to do that he needs to actually see his own actions, as perceived by others._
> 
> _He has a lot of growing up to do…_
> 
> _Has to start somewhere…_
> 
>  


	7. A Pictures Worth A Thousand Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ever expanding group head to the club for more answers (Or at least SOME)
> 
> Alec realized something…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ##  _ Notes: _
> 
> Alright, so the second part is going to go back just a bit and see Alec from when they first got to the club, meeting Dot…
> 
> Kay?
> 
> _There IS a reason…I swear…._
> 
> _Hey, I said it’d be kinda jumpy…_
> 
> _And I don’t think you all will mind too much ;-)_

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

 “Umm…Hello?” Dot said curiously raising an eyebrow, looking over the random assortment of people piling into the club...

 

Magnus supposed curiosity was rather warranted…the group now not only had him, Alec, Raph, Simon and Izzy, it now also included Clary, Kevin **_and_** Jace…

 

_It might actually be stranger than the crossbow in the office…_

Magnus shrugged it off, giving a bright smile, kissing her cheek lightly.

 

“Hello, darling. And how are you today?”

 

She raised her eyebrow a bit more,

 

“Umm…fine…so, is there a reason you suddenly have an entourage? And does it have anything to do with the crossbow in the bad suit in the office?”

 

Alec groaned,

 

“Are my suits really _that_ bad?” Alec asked exasperatedly, glancing around at the others,

 

“Yes, yes they are.” Raphael answered without hesitation, nodding in emphasis. Izzy mirrored him, vigorously.

 

The other’s just glanced away, guiltily.

 

Magnus patted his shoulder sympathetically, giving him a slight smile…

 

“They look good on you...” he offered.

 

Alec blushed faintly, but gave him a small, grateful smile.

 

“Thanks.”

 

 “You’re gorgeous; you’d look good in anything.” Magnus adds casually with a shrug, squeezing his shoulder once more before turning back to Dot, completely missing the slightly awestruck smile and deepening of Alec’s blush at the casual words.

 

“Well… yes, somewhat. It seems the four of us; Alexander, Raphael, Isabelle and I, were slipped something yesterday, which seems to have wiped the entire day from our minds. We are currently trying to piece it together.”

 

Dot gasped,

 

“You were WHAT!?” she glanced over them in shock, before settling back on Magnus, shaking her head.

 

“Are you okay? How did it happen? Was it at the club? _Oh my god_ if there is someone dosing patrons at the club, I swear I’ll-”

 

“Whoa, Dot…relax, _breathe_ , it wasn’t at the club, and we know who s-”

 

 _“Who?”_ She demanded, glancing over the group, eyes sharp.

 

Jace made a slightly muffled ‘eep’ sound, glancing away quickly. Dot zeroed in instantly, raising her eyebrow.

 

“Seriously? _You_ did it?”

 

“Umm…I…well, no, n-not me…exactly…see I was having a party and a friend of mine-”

 

“Decided that dosing a group of strangers against their will would be a kick?”

 

“ ** _What!_** _No, not anything like that!_ See they were kind of snappy and in bad moods and really tense and he just thought it would-”

 

“Make them more agreeable?”

 

“Yeah… ** _Wait, No!_** _Not like that, they j-”_

 

“Weren’t behaving how you wanted, so you decided to use a chemical to make them?”

 

“Uhh…I-um…I-I don’t…” he trailed off, eyes wide, shaking his head frantically, looking at the others for help.

 

He seemed thoroughly confused, flustered and nearly on the verge of tears…

 

_Dot really was exceptional at her job…he should give her a raise…_

Magnus sighed, shaking his head.

 

“Darling, that’s enough…” he turned slightly, catching Jace’s eye.

 

“It was stupid, irresponsible, self serving and a whole host of other unfavorable things, but it was _not_ malicious…

 

His friend did something stupid and he acted as if it was nothing, but it was, and we really do not know all the implications or consequences as of yet…” he turned back to Dot, beginning to move towards the office, the entire group trailing after.

 

“Rest assured _we **will**_ get back to him. However we have other business to attend to at the moment.”

 

They’d reached the office, slipping in and over to the desk on which something was sitting, wrapped in what was most definitely Alec’s brown suit.

 

He turned back to Dot,

 

“You see, Friday we were working a case in which an antique crossbow was stolen…so, either in our inebriated state we somehow managed to solve the case and recover the stolen object…or, in said state we stole a random crossbow, thinking it was the one we were looking for” he reached over, unwrapping it cautiously, and breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“Okay…Good news; we’re not thieves… we solved the case and recovered the stolen crossbow…

 

Though we have no idea who had it, where they had it, why they had it, or _how the hell_ we came into possession of it…

 

But still…progress.”

 

He looked back at the others; who appeared just as perplexed as he felt.

 

Raphael shook his head, sighing…

 

“Okay…well…we have it. Obviously we got it before we came here, and I couldn’t see us going shopping for Alec’s new clothes while carrying a crossbow…

 

Pretty sure that would have drawn a bit of attention…”

 

Alec nodded,

 

“Okay, Magnus? You said the last receipt was stamped 11:30-”

 

“11:22…but go on” he smirked,

 

Alec rolled his eyes, but gave him a slight smile,

 

“Fine… _11:22_. So we found it sometime after that, we need to find out when, exactly, we were here, that would help us narrow it down…” he glanced from Magnus back to Dot.

 

“Do you guys have security footage, or anything that could help?”

 

She nodded quickly, giving him a slight smile,

 

“Yeah, no problem, I can cue it up in here, it’d just be a minute. And the door has a keypad, it records when it is opened last.

 

When I found the crossbow I had a look…It was actually Raphael’s code that was used to unlock the office, and it was at 2:27am, that should help with your timeline.”

 

Alec gave her a grateful smile,

 

“Thank you, we really do appreciate it.”

 

She shook her head,

 

“Hey, no problem…It’s really great to _finally_ meet you, by the way…Magnus talks about you…a LOT.” she smirked

 

“I do not.” he grumbled

 

“Yeah, you do…it’s really annoying…anymore I just tune it out.”

 

“Hey!”

 

She just raised her eyebrow at Magnus; he huffed faintly, before startling somewhat.

 

“Oh! Sorry! I completely forgot to introduce everyone.

 

Guys, this is my Manager for Pandemonium, Dot. Dot? This is Simon, Raphael’s boyfriend, I cannot believe you two haven’t met yet, Isabelle and Jace, Alexander’s siblings, and you already know Clary, _oh_ , and this is…Kevin…he…uh…”

 

“Hi…I’m new.” Kevin said brightly, giving a faint, geeky wave.

 

She chuckled slightly,

 

“Well, good to meet all of you. So, let’s get this footage up and see what we can find, shall we?”

 

With that she turned from the group, beginning to type away.

 

Simon glanced over at Raphael.

 

“So, you unlocked the office, that must mean you put the crossbow in here…Why do you have your own code for the office, anyways?” he asked curiously.

 

Raphael glared slightly at Dot.

 

“Ask her.” he grumbled

 

Dot shrugged,

 

“Hey…it’s security protocol…we can’t have people just giving out their security clearance all willy-nilly. It’s a rule we all have to follow…it’s for your own protection, as well as the clubs…

 

The fact that having people able to see and track your movements annoys the hell out of you is just an added bonus…” she smirked, sending a slight wink to Simon.

 

He muffled a laugh, glancing away quickly.

 

“Wow, I don’t know if she’s brave or crazy.” Alec whispered in Magnus’s ear, slipping his arm around Magnus, hand resting lightly at his waist. Magnus’s breath caught, He startled faintly, he hadn’t realized Alexander was quite that close…

 

_Not that he was in any way complaining._

_Alexander could **absolutely** be as close to him as he wanted…_

Magnus chuckled faintly, glancing over, catching his eye; he gave a slight smile, leaning close.

 

“I have known her nearly a decade, I often wonder the same thing.” he whispered.

 

Alec gave a faint huff of a muffled laugh, his hand at Magnus’s waist absently moving up and down, seemingly unconsciously.

 

_It was extremely distracting…_

_Once again…not that he was **in any way** complaining…_

“Ah! Here it is!” Dot’s said triumphantly. Hitting a few more buttons, bringing up footage from outside the office…

 

“Uhh…Raphael? What are yo-” she trailed off trying to stifle a laugh.

 

“ _Oh god_ …” he groaned shaking his head, glaring faintly at Simon.

 

He just laughed, putting his hands up placatingly,

 

“Hey! I didn’t make you wear it! I wasn’t even in town!”

 

That did not stop the glare.

 

Simon laughed louder (almost as loudly as Magnus)

 

He slipped his arm around his boyfriend, leaning over and kissing Raphael lightly…

 

“At least you looked _really_ cute.”

 

He huffed faintly,

 

Magnus tried to get his laughter in check, the other’s held theirs somewhat better…

 

_Dorky P.J.’s or not, Raphael **was** pretty intimidating if you weren’t his best friend or boyfriend…_

 

There, on the footage, in **_glaringly_** clear color, was Raphael in Simon’s Pajamas, along with Izzy, dressed normally, attempting to sneak into the office, suit wrapped crossbow in tow.

 

Magnus lost it; giggling uncontrollably, leaning against Alec for support, most of the other’s where in much the same state…

 

It was unavoidable…

 

They looked like they thought they were in a spy movie… ducking behind things and people, trying to make their way to the office…clearly thinking they were being subtle…

 

**_They were not…_ **

 

“Umm…C-can I get a copy of that?” Alec asked in between laughs, Dot grinned nodding, sending him a wink.

 

Raphael turned to him in shock, glaring,

 

Alec shook his head,

 

“I’m sorry… that’s just too funny.”

 

Simon nodded eagerly,

 

“Yeah, forward it to me, please Alec?”

 

 _“Really?!”_ Raphael demanded

 

Simon grinned,

 

_“You just look so cute!”_

 

“Ugh” Raphael grumbled, blushing faintly,

 

“If that ends up online I **_will_** wipe both of your phones.”

 

Magnus chuckled, shaking his head,

 

“O-okay, so, we know where Raph and Izzy where. I wonder why we weren’t with them?

 

See if you can find us and about how long we stayed.”

 

Alec nodded, leaning closer,

 

Dot stilled slightly…

 

_W-was she blushing? That can’t be good…_

“Uhh…I found you guys…I think you may have been otherwise occupied.”

 

Magnus tilted his head curiously, leaning closer to see.

 

“What do you… _Oh_ …” he blushed brightly,

 

_Huh…well…he **had** wondered why Alexander was blushing so brightly about them dancing…_

_Now he knew…_

**_Wow…_ **

_He was now more determined than ever to get Alexander to come to the club with him._

Man…he looked gorgeous…it’s Alec, he always does, but **_damn_** …

 

He had that outfit with the tight green shirt and tighter pants and just a bit of eyeliner, which was now smudged and kind of messy from the heat of the club, and from dancing…

 

His hair was kind of mussed, clearly from Magnus running his fingers through it (and that didn’t make his heart race…or make him slightly dizzy…or make him REALLY wish they were alone right now…)

 

**_Damn…_ **

He shook his head, trying to clear away all the thoughts THAT brought up…

 

_Why was it so damn hot in here?_

_How did he even GET Alexander into that…or to wear eyeliner?_

##  _ Flashback _

****

_Alec laughs slightly unsure, blushing faintly…_

_He’s sitting on the chair in front of Magnus’s vanity, looking almost nervous._

_“I can’t believe I’m letting you do this” he muttered, shaking his head,_

_Magnus laughed,_

_“Well you are, no take backs! Now sit still.” he demanded, moving closer,_

_“Well how are you going to…”_

_He trailed off when Magnus moved closer, settling comfortably on his lap. Alec blushed brilliantly, glancing away._

_He brushed his fingers through Alexander’s hair, trailing down, running over his jaw, tilting his face back up._

_“You have to look at me, sweetheart…I can’t do your makeup if I can’t see your pretty face.”_

_Alec gave a slight surprised laugh, blushing even brighter, shaking his head._

_“I-I-I’m no-”_

_Magnus leaned in, cutting off his sentence with a soft, sweet kiss. He hummed slightly, deepening the kiss, tilting Alec’s head up for a better angle, before parting just barely for breath._

_“Yes you are.”_

_“Okay.” Alec breathed, nodding quickly,_

_Magnus giggled at that, leaning closer, kissing him again, before turning away, reaching for something on the vanity._

_Alec whimpered slightly, trying to tug him back into a kiss. Magnus chuckled, shaking his head faintly, giving an impish grin,_

_“Now, now…don’t think you are going to distract me…you promised.”_

_Alec pouted slightly,_

_Magnus gave a delighted laugh, leaning in, kissing him again, before pulling back just a bit._

_Alec’s hands come to rest lightly on Magnus’s thighs,_

_Magnus leans a bit closer…_

_“Now, you have to hold perfectly still…” he instructed, holding up the eyeliner…_

## 

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

Alec slowed somewhat as they approached the entrance of the club, still caught up in his memory, wondering if something got mixed up yet again and it was actually a dream he was remembering…

 

It’s possible; it definitely _felt_ like some kind of fantasy.

 

Yeah, they weren’t in their right minds last night, far from it, but still, Magnus was something else. The way he’d kissed him, when he’d pulled him in, it’d taken his breath away.

 

 It was nothing like any of the other kisses they’d had, it was almost possessive. Hot and hard and demanding, like he was claiming Alec, like Alec was _**his**_ …which Alec was MORE than okay with, especially if it meant _Magnus_ was _**Alec’s**_.

 

It was thrilling, thinking Magnus wanted him that much…

 

_Yeah…that had to have been a dream, not like it’d be the first time today he got the two mixed up…_

Of course the first time it was mistaking reality for a dream… a dream he’d had so many times it wasn’t even funny.

 

Being in bed with Magnus…and not just like _**that**_ _(though…yes, please)_ , but just actually having Magnus there, with him; all sleep-warm, relaxed and happy. Touching him, kissing him, waking up with Magnus in his arms…

 

He really couldn’t count how many mornings he’s woke up wishing that was real…wishing he was there.

 

_Really it was no wonder he thought it was a dream._

At least Magnus wasn’t upset by it.

 

When Alec had first realized what was going on he had been horrified, after all, Magnus had tried to stop him a couple times…if he’d had any idea it was real he would have instantly. He couldn’t help thinking Magnus would be angry, or uncomfortable...

 

Thankfully he wasn’t. He was actually really sweet about it, assuring him it was okay, Alec just thought he was dreaming, that he’d, in fact, thought the same thing, tha-…

 

_W-wait…_

_Wait a minute…_

_Magnus thought the same thing?_

_Magnus thought he was dreaming, too?_

_MAGNUS thought he was dreaming about being in bed with ALEC?_

_**MAGNUS dreams about being in bed with ALEC?!** _

__

_**How the hell did he miss that!?** _

__

_w-what, h-,how lo-, what did he-,was it the sa-, wha-…huh!?_

_Okay, stop, breathe…you’ve already lost your memories from one day; you don’t need to pass out and possibly lose more._

_Just breathe…_

He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths, trying to stop his brain from crashing and tramp down the sudden giddiness and lightheadedness that hit him like a truck when he realized that _Magnus_ ** _freaking_** _Bane_ \- the most mind numbingly gorgeous person he has ever seen in his life, who is SO far out of his league he doubts they’re even playing the same game, who he’s had an embarrassingly huge crush on for nearly a year-

 

Apparently dreams about being in bed with _**him**_ …

 

On such a regular basis as to mistake them waking up in bed together for just another dream.

 

_Seriously, what?!_

_This was some kind of side effect from whatever they were slipped, wasn’t it? He was still dreaming or hallucinating or something…_

_Right?_

He shook his head trying to get some semblance of control of himself.

 

Okay, so yes, Magnus flirted, complimented him a lot, but he did that with most people. He was exceptionally friendly and extraverted, that’s just how he is…

 

 _At least that’s what Alec has always_ _thought_ …

 

_I mean, yeah, he’s thought about asking him out…_

_Some…_

_Okay, a lot…_

_Like a few times every week since they met..._

 

They definitely had a connection, there was no denying that. There’d been more than a few times when he thought maybe…

 

But he always second guessed himself.

 

He knew Magnus liked him as a person, as a friend…he absolutely loved working with him. That he knew for certain.

 

He was reasonably sure Magnus found him somewhat attractive…but he kind of thought Magnus found a lot of people attractive. It didn’t automatically mean he wanted to date him…

 

He got that, there were plenty of people he found attractive but wouldn’t want to date for one reason or another.

 

There were more than a few times he thought he might have a chance…but something always made him back out.

 

_But this…this was something…_

 

If Magnus dreamt of him _(like Alec dreamt of Magnus)_ than that was definitely something.

 

If Magnus thought about him like that…that was promising. That could absolutely mean he had a chance…

 

_And really…what could it hurt?_

 

Though, now that he thought about it, as long as Alec has known him, he hasn’t heard him mention dating anyone (Much to his relief, but still).

 

It’d just never come up. He knew Magnus was Bi, and from his and Raphael’s stories he tended to be flirty, almost aggressively so and verging on ridicules in his pursuit of those he found attractive- but he didn’t recall any mention of any serious ex’s.

 

_Maybe Magnus just didn’t really do serious relationships?_

 

It would kind of make sense…

 

I mean, _it’s_ ** _Magnus_** ;

 

 The man has more options than Alec could ever even begin to imagine, everyone notices him. He could understand if you had all those options, being somewhat hesitant about something serious or exclusive…

 

_But…that could be okay…_

 

It wasn’t like they needed to jump straight into a serious relationship right off the bat. They could take it slow…try casual, go on a couple dates and just see what happens.

 

At least then they’d know.

 

He takes one more deep breath, nodding faintly to himself. It was decided. After they got this all sorted, he’d just go for it.

 

After all it was _Magnus_ ; even if Alec had read it totally wrong and he actually wasn’t interested he would be kind about it, and if anything, at least then he’d know.

  

He glanced around, trying to figure out if he’d missed anything during his freak out/epiphany.

 

Magnus was talking to a rather pretty woman in a pair of well tailored, deep burgundy suit pants and matching vest over a soft white peasant blouse. Her dark hair was pulled back into a somewhat sever ponytail, Alec tried to tune into the conversation and not seem like he’d just had a total brain shutdown and reboot.

 

“…fine…so, is there a reason you suddenly have an entourage? And does it have anything to do with the crossbow in the bad suit in the office?”

 

_Really…that’s what he had to tune back in for?_

 

“Are my suits really _that_ bad?”

 

“Yes, yes they are” Raphael nodded; Izzy mirrored him, rather vigorously.

 

The other’s seemed distracted, looking elsewhere.

 

_Okay…maybe he needed to face facts…_

 

He glanced over at Magnus; he smiled, patting his shoulder,

 

“They look good on you...” he offered.

 

Alec blushed faintly,

 

“Thanks.”

 

 “You’re gorgeous; you’d look good in anything.”

 

Alec felt his heart speed up. It was a simple, off handed compliment, but it made the giddiness come back full force.

 

_Yeah, when they were done with this he was definitely taking his chance._

 

He slipped a bit closer to Magnus’s side, following along with the conversation. Magnus explaining their current predicament, and Dot grilling Jace. Alec had to stifle a laugh at that.

 

Jace was his brother, and he loved him, but he had screwed up majorly…he deserved to be uncomfortable for a while.

 

They moved into the office, finding that it was ‘the’ crossbow that they had recovered and they hadn’t just randomly stolen one from god only knows where…(Though technically they probably stole it back, but he doesn’t think that really counts as _stealing_ so much as recovering stolen property…while somewhat inebriated…he didn’t think there was a protocol for that).

 

  “Okay…well…we have it…obviously we got it before we came here, and I couldn’t see us going shopping for Alec’s new clothes while carrying a crossbow…

 

 I’m pretty sure that would have drawn a bit of attention…”

 

Alec nodded

 

“Okay, Magnus? You said the last receipt was stamped 11:30-”

 

“11:22…but go on” he smirked

 

Alec couldn’t help but smile back,

 

Since Magnus had told him about the whole ‘eidetic memory’ thing he’s been doing that, showing off…

 

It was cute as hell (Especially with that somewhat cocky smirk)

 

_He really hoped they got this figured out soon…_

“Fine, 11:22-”

 

He turned to Dot,

 

“Do you guys have security footage, or anything that could help?”

 

“Yeah, no problem, I can cue it up in here, it’d just be a minute. And the door has a keypad, it records when it is opened.

 

When I found the crossbow I had a look…It was Raphael’s code that used to unlock the office, at 2:27am; that should help with your timeline.”

 

“Thank you, we really do appreciate it.”

 

“Hey, no problem…It’s really great to _finally_ meet you, by the way…Magnus talks about you…a LOT” she smirked

 

Alec raised his eyebrow, glancing over at Magnus.

 

“I do not.” he grumbled

 

_Was he blushing?_

_He really needed to wait till after they got this figured out…_

_At least he was going to try to wait…_

 

He slipped closer to Magnus, chuckling slightly as Raphael grumbled and glared at Dot clearly baiting Raphael, he’d never seen anyone other than Magnus or Simon act like that with the guy.

 

He shook his head, slipping his arm around Magnus,

 

“Wow, I don’t know if she’s brave or crazy.” he murmured, low enough for just him to hear.

 

Magnus seemed to startle faintly, before relaxing against him, leaning closer. He chuckled, glancing up at him, eyes bright with amusement. It made Alec’s breath catch.

 

“I have known her nearly a decade, I often wonder the same thing.” he whispered back.

 

Alec tried to contain his laugh…if she wasn’t intimidated by Raphael he sure as hell didn’t want to get on the woman’s bad side…

 

_Speaking of Raphael…_

 

Alec tried to keep his laughter in as long as possible, but it was rather futile. Raphael and Izzy sneaking through the club trying to be stealthy was one of the funniest things he’s ever seen. Magnus seemed to agree, as he was flat out giggling so much he had to lean on Alec for support. Alec wasn’t too far behind.

 

He pulled Magnus closer, trying to muffle his own laughter, but it was of no use.

 

“Umm…C-can I get a copy of that?”

 

Dot grinned nodding, sending him a wink.

 

Raphael whirled around, glaring,

 

“I’m sorry…but that’s just too funny.”

 

Simon eagerly nods

 

“Yeah, forward it to me, please Alec?”

 

Raphael whirled back, it’s a wonder he didn’t get dizzy,

 

“Really?!”

 

Alec laughed harder, both at that and the increasingly bright blush Raphael now had…

 

_He never thought he’d see the day…_

 

Taking a deep breath, and trying to get himself under control, he turned back to watching the screen, Dot now scanning the footage looking for them.

 

She stilled, faintly blushing …

 

“Uhh…I found you guys…I think you may have been a bit otherwise occupied.”

 

Magnus leaned forward, trying to see, Alec followed suit.

 

“What do you… _Oh_ …”

 

_Okay…it was most definitely NOT a dream._

It was just like his memory, only different… _better_.

 

He saw himself tug Magnus close, grabbing his hips, pulling him in, holding tight, kissing his neck, but now… _now_ he could see Magnus’s expression, his eyes were closed in pleasure, leaning into him; he looked completely lost in it… _in **Alec**_ …like no one else even registered. He turned in Alec’s arms, grabbing him, pulling him down into _THAT_ kiss…

 

_**Damn…** _

__

_Was there any way he could ask her for that footage too without it seeming creepy?_

He glanced over, trying to gauge Magnus’s reaction, realizing he’d somewhat froze when the footage of them begin.

 

Alec’s breath caught. He looked surprised, eyes wide, seemingly not daring to blink, he was blushing brilliantly, breath shallow, mouth open slightly.

 

_Okay, he may not be able to read people like Magnus could, in fact on things like this he’s the first to admit he can be a bit clueless, but there wasn’t any mistaking **that** look…_

_He DEFINITLY had a chance…_

 

He slid his hand at Magnus’s waist down slightly, resting it on his hip, squeezing lightly.

 

Magnus gasped, jumping a bit, shaking his head

 

Alec pulled away quickly

 

_Oh he was so stupid he shou-_

Magnus turned to him, looking ecstatic, smiling, he grabbed his arm.

 

“I think you are right darling, the tea is working, I remember something!”

 

The others seemed to perk up, leaning forward, expectantly.

 

“You did? What was it?” Izzy asked eagerly

 

Magnus shook his head somewhat apologetically,

 

“Nothing that will help with the case, unfortunately. But still, it’s something.”

 

“That’s okay, if their beginning to come back, that’s the important thing.” Simon offered,

 

Izzy and Raphael nodded, giving him a faint smile.

 

Alec turned to him,

 

“So, what was it you remembered?” he asked, relieved that Magnus’s reaction was just from coming out of the flashback and not because Alec had overstepped.

 

Magnus blushed again…Alec thinks this may be a record,

 

He glanced up sheepishly, shrugging,

 

“Oh, umm…well…it was of me doing your makeup…” he blushed brighter, glancing down,

 

“Which, once again, doesn’t really help us as you had makeup on in the picture and in the footage so…”

 

Alec nodded,

 

“Yeah, and it’d stand to reason you did it, I mean, regardless of what state I was in I couldn’t see me letting anyone else, so…umm…” he trailed off blushing too, glancing away.

 

Izzy laughed,

 

“He’s not kidding; I’ve been trying to get him to let me try it on him for years, no luck, same with getting some decent clothes…

 

Don’t know how you managed that either…”

 

##  _ Flashback: _

__

_They’re at the apartment, all setting in the living room, comfortable,  there’s some kind of brightly colored cartoon playing on the TV, they have the coffee table covered in every snack they could find, Izzy is stretched out on the lounge, bowl of candy on the end table by her head, Chairman curled up on her pillow, Miss Cleo stretched out next to her, almost mimicking her position._

_Raphael is on the loveseat, in Simon’s PJ’s , a very large bowl of popcorn in his lap absently watching the show, laughing every now and then._

_Alec is halfway setting up on one side of the couch relaxed, smiling. Magnus stretched out across him, head resting on his shoulder, one arm wrapped around him, the other hand absently running across his chest. He nuzzles closer, making a happy, contented hum._

_He leans up, lightly kissing Alec’s jaw. He chuckles, turning his head, pulling Magnus into a proper kiss. Magnus tugs him closer, hand catching in his hair, nipping lightly at his lower lip before pulling him into a slow, deep kiss._

_Alec groans slightly, hand lightly trailing down his side._

_“Mmmm…” Magnus murmurs_

_They startle apart when they are suddenly bombarded by random objects,_

_“Wha-” they glance around in confusion glaring at the other two._

_Izzy puts down her bowl of candy ammunition, Raphael mirrors her with his popcorn._

_“Sorry Magnus, I love you and I love my brother, and I want you two together, but I SO don’t want to actually SEE you **‘together’** …remember…brother…ew…” _

_He chuckled shrugging sheepishly,_

_Alec groaned in embarrassment, ducking behind Magnus…_

_“Sorry, kind of forgot you were there.” he muttered, blushing brightly. Magnus giggled, leaning over and kissing his cheek. Alec smiled leaning closer_

_“Hey, don’t start that again…I still have half a bowl of popcorn.” Raphael groused._

_Magnus rolled his eyes, ignoring him,_

_He reached up, running his fingers through Alec’s hair, smiling dreamily,_

_“You look so pretty.” he sighed_

_Alec chuckled, shaking his head,_

_Magnus nodded emphatically, raising his eyebrow,_

_“Yes you **are** , don’t argue.” he leaned forward, kissing Alec’s nose._

_He chuckled but nodded._

_Suddenly Magnus brightened, setting up eagerly,_

_“You look way too pretty to just set around here…we need to go somewhere,”_

_He gasped, bouncing slightly,_

_“Let’s go to the club!”_

_“Yeah, let’s go!” Izzy said excitedly_

_“Ugh” Raphael grumbled_

_“Oh, I-no…that-”_

_“Please, Alexander?” he pouted slightly, leaning over, kissing his cheek, and along his jaw._

_“Come on…I **really** want to dance with you…please?”_

_Alec shook his head, blushing brightly, but already feeling himself relenting…_

_He had one out…_

_“I-but, I-I can’t, I don’t have anything to wear for a cl-”_

_He trailed off nervously; the other three were staring at him with terrifyingly similar grins…_

_“We can fix that.”_

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know it’s kinda confusing and backtracks a bit but I really wanted to see Alec’s thoughts during this…
> 
> The next one I swear I’ll move forward…
> 
> _What do you guys think so far?_


	8. A Winning Combination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raphael and Izzy realize just how much they have in common… Alec finds his phone...he definitely won't lose it again... 
> 
> _Probably won't let it out of his sight._
> 
> __

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait guys, I really wanted to go through and read the entire thing to proof and everything.
> 
>  But I did get an outline for the last 5 chapters…so that should help a lot. Hopefully I can pick up the pace now…

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

##  _Flashback_ :

 

_“Magnus…what I- I can’t wear this!” Alec stammered, blushing brightly, trying in vain to shrug the glaringly bright, shimmery purple shirt Magnus was trying to fasten on him, off._

_Magnus pouted,_

_“Oh…but it’s so pretty, and **you’re** so pretty…so it works.” he insisted, using the shirt to tug him into a playful kiss._

_Alec stopped batting his hands away, slipping his arm around Magnus, kissing him back._

_Magnus used the distraction to finish doing up the buttons on the ridicules shirt._

_He pulled back, grinning triumphantly,_

_Alec blinked, slightly dazed, dreamy smile on his face before glancing down,_

_“Hey! You tricked me!”_

_“But you **liked** it!” Magnus countered teasingly, standing back to admire his handiwork._

_Raphael shook his head, rolling his eyes…_

_They’d been like that for hours. Once Alec agreed (Well, Okay, once they’d dragged him here) Magnus basically decided he was his own, personal doll, and taken to putting him in the most garish outfits he could find._

_The girl working the counter was paying them no mind, typing away happily on her phone, probably shopping for all the things she’d buy from the commission from this sale._

 

_Raphael had tried to interject some semblance of subtly and taste into the crazy, but had since given up, letting Magnus have his fun._

_It was fine, when Magnus was distracted playing dress up with Alec he and Izzy had picked out some decent, normal, suits and such for the hopelessly fashion challenged detective._

_They had several bags, now he was just letting Magnus play…_

_They were happy, they deserved it._

 

_It was sweet…_

_Simon would have been ecstatic._

_He sighed, faintly,_

_“What’s wrong?” Izzy asked leaning casually against him, propping her elbow on his shoulder…_

_In her gold stilettos she’d insisted on getting to match her new outfit she was a few inches taller than him, making it fairly easy._

_He shook his head,_

_“I just wish Simon was with us for this…he would have loved it.”_

_She nodded sympathetically,_

_“Yeah, he would…but it’s okay...we took lots of pictures” she said, lifting  Alec’s phone, snapping a few more pictures, including a selfie of the two of them…_

_“He’ll just be happy they’re so happy…he’s great like that.” she assured_

_Raphael smiled, nodding faintly,_

_“Yeah, he really is…I really can’t believe I got so lucky…He is way too good for me.”_

_She shook her head,_

_“No he’s not, you’re both good for each other. You are exactly what the other needs…you balance each other…_

_That’s why it works.”_

_He gave a soft, real smile at that._

_“Thanks.”_

_She nodded, snapping another picture of him before turning back to Alec and Magnus._

_Magnus looked over Alec, frowning slightly,_

_“No…you’re right...that’s not you…I think it’s more me.” he said nodding,_

_With that he reached down, grabbed the hem of his own shirt tugging it off without a second thought, tossing it carelessly to the side._

_Alec flushed brightly, eyes wide as saucers, staring at Magnus, totally dumbfounded._ _Magnus reached up, undoing the buttons and sliding it off of Alec, slipping it on himself instead._

_Of course it’s **Magnus** ; the ridicules color and sparkles looked fine on HIM._

_“You are so gorgeous,” Alec murmured, shaking his head,_

_Magnus gave a delighted smile, reaching up, brushing his hand against his cheek._

_“Thank you, my darling Detective.”_

_Alec frowned slightly,_

_“I know you probably hear that all the time.”_

_“But not from you.”_

_“Still I wish I could think of something special to say…”_

_Magnus shook his head_

_“It’s from you…that makes it special.”_

_Alec gave a soft huff of a laugh…shaking his head,_

_“I don’t know how you do that…make everything better. You really are one of a kind.”_

_“So are you, Sweetha…” he trailed off, freezing,_

_Alec tilted his head in concern,_

_“Wha-?”_

_“I got it! I solved it!” Magnus said excitedly, bouncing slightly,_

_He grabbed Alec’s hand, tugging impatiently,_

_“Come on! We have to go! I know where to find it, but we have to hurry!”_

_With that he turned and rushed for the door,_

_“I-w-what, but, Wait, Magnus! I don’t have a shirt!” he stammered, trying to rush after him_

_Raphael shook his head, quickly grabbing a green shirt he and Izzy had picked out when Magnus was playing, tossing it to Alec, before quickly handing his card over to the girl at the counter._

_“Here, just ring what we have, I’ll pick it up tomorrow,” he told her dismissively,_

_“What? Wait! Where are you going?” She asked totally baffled_

_He shrugged,_

_“Crazy most likely” he muttered rushing out the door trying to catch up with the others…_

Raphael gasped faintly,

 

 ** _“I remember!”_** Raphael exclaimed, startling when it almost seemed to echo.

 

He and Alec froze, glancing at each other, the rest of the group staring at them expectantly…

 

They shrugged at each other, Raphael gestured for Alec to start,

 

“I remember us at the apartment… sitting around, relaxing, and Magnus decided we had to go to the club…Me and you didn’t want to go, and I tried to say I didn’t have anything to wear…

 

You all took that as a challenge.”

 

Raphael chuckled, nodding faintly so relieved to finally have an actual memory of the day…even just one, it was a start.

 

“Mine must have been after that…we were at the last clothing store, Magnus was trying every ridiculous thing he could find on you, then he said ‘I solved it’ and basically ran out the door… _wait_ …find your phone, there should be pictures!”

 

Alec nodded quickly,

 

“Whe-”

 

“There are a few behind the bar, that’s where we put the ones we find when the club closes down.” Dot offered, standing up with the rest of them, moving out of the office towards the bar.

 

Simon hit the button on his phone, calling Alec’s,

 

The tune sounded,

 

They followed it, finding the phone.

 

Alec quickly slid the screen, unlocking it, then froze, blushing brightly

 

“Umm…”

 

His background had changed,

 

It used to just cycle through random nature photos…

 

 Now it had a picture of Magnus giving a flirty, mischievous smirk…

 

Shirtless…

 

In very low slung, distressed dark blue jeans…

 

Alec’s eyes were so wide Raphael wondered if it was medically possible for them to actually come out…

 

He looked like he might hyperventilate.

 

Also, his mouth was nearly hanging open, and he hadn’t blinked once…

 

“U-umm…well…t-that’s, uhh…that is umm…” he trailed off, still not blinking, trying to look away, but still glancing back...blushing more.

 

Raphael sighed,

 

_Well, this was getting them nowhere…_

He shook his head, reaching over and quickly plucking the phone out of his hand.

 

 _“Hey!-”_ Alec stammered, reaching for it, before blushing, glancing away sheepishly,

 

“Alec, relax, I just want to see what other pictures are on here… it seemed we were snapping them most of the night. I’m just seeing if we have any other clues…

 

I’ll give it back.”

 

“O-okay, I just didn’t want to lose it again…that’s all.” he said, quickly, still blushing.

 

Dot gave a loud laugh,

 

Simon coughed slightly…though it sounded like a cover as well.

 

 Magnus smiled at Alec, giving a playful wink, before shrugging unconcerned…he’d never really been the self-conscious type.

 

Kevin blushed brightly, glancing away from the screen.

 

Jace _didn’t,_ blatantly staring…which caused Izzy to elbow him, none too gently,

 

_Raphael appreciated that…_

 

_Saved him the trouble._

He turned back to the phone, flipping through the pictures, looking for anything they could use, relieved to have some real, solid proof of the night before.

 

_Maybe they could finally get some answers…_

_He’d kind of prefer those answers not come in the form of ‘sexy’ shirtless Magnus photos…but still…Progress…_

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Other-Other-Other-Other-Other

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

##  _ Izzy _

 

“Make sure you don’t delete anything…it could be evidence, or-”

 

“ ** _Alec_** , I know how to work a phone.”

 

Raphael snapped, rolling his eyes, flicking through the photos.

 

Hundreds of photos…Literally…

 

Alec had about twenty photos on Friday…now there are 382…

_This was gonna take a while_

 

Over half of them were all at the apartment, filling in quite a few of the blanks there. They’d all worked on the blanket fort. There were a lot of them building it, and a few inside it. It looked like they’d decided to turn the entire evening into a sleepover. Only as adults…and with alcohol…

 

It actually looked like they had a blast. 

 

There were a lot of really nice photos of Magnus and Alec…she had to have Alec forward them to her. She definitely didn’t have to worry about Alec accidently deleting any of them…

 

She muffled a chuckle. Alec was watching Raphael like a hawk (A blushing, stammering hawk, but still…) so worried he’d do something and delete **_that_** picture of Magnus.

 

She just hoped that was the most risqué thing on there…

 

She loved Magnus, and objectively he was very hot, but she really didn’t want to see any of _that_.

 

She peered over Raphael’s shoulder, watching the pictures, looking for anything interesting.

 

“So, anything else important in the flashback?” she asked (They’d taken to calling them that, it seemed to fit), leaning closer, watching the photos fly by.

 

He shook his head,

 

“No, not really… seemed like we’d been going for a while, I was getting kind of fed up with them, but they were happy so it was tolerable…and I was wishing Simon was with us…”

 

“Aww…” Simon cooed, leaning closer, kissing his cheek,

 

He’d somehow got between the phone and Alec on Raphael’s other side…Alec wasn’t too pleased by that, but it was _Simon_ and you couldn’t really stay mad at the guy…it was like trying to stay mad at a puppy.

 

“Oh, wait!” he said, resting his hand over Raphaels, stopping him,

 

“What, did you see something?”

 

He nodded quickly, reaching over, clicking one of the thumbnails, pulling the picture up to full size.

 

“That’s not evidence…that’s just a picture of me.”

 

“Yeah, but you’re smiling and it’s really cute.”

 

Raphael huffed, rolling his eyes. Simon clicked on the picture and sent it to his phone

 

“Okay, you can keep going,” he said, smiling

 

Raphael shook his head, but couldn’t help a slight smile at his boyfriend.

 

He glanced at the photo…

 

“Wait, that might actually be helpful…I think this is one of the pictures I remember Izzy taking.”

 

He flicked forward a few more, spotting Alec in a garish purple shirt, he nodded excitedly.

 

“Yeah, I remember this!”

 

“Okay, that you can delete.” Alec muttered, the other’s snickered.

 

Alec glanced back at the photo, then over at Magnus raising his eyebrow,

 

“Exactly how out of it were you?”

 

Magnus chuckled, leaning against his side,

 

“Oh, it’s not _that_ bad.”

 

“Yes it is.” Jace muttered

 

Raphael seemed to agree, nodding, but getting a slight smirk…

 

_Huh…_

 

She didn’t know what was coming next, but figured it’d be fun, she leaned closer.

 

“Yeah…Magnus decided it wasn’t really your style.” he said, smirking, flicking through slowly.

 

The next photos showed Magnus frown, then reach down, tug his own shirt up and over his head, and toss it aside before reaching forward deftly unfastening the shirt while Alec stood stock still, frozen, eyes wide, mouth open…

 

Much like he was now…

 

She had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing…

 

“Umm…I don’t know if we should be going through these.” Kevin said, blushing brightly, glancing away,

 

“Maybe we should let Alec and Magnus go through first, just in case…”

 

Alec smiled gratefully,

 

“Thank you **_Kevin_** …have I mentioned how glad I am to have you along with this group?”

 

He absolutely beamed ,

 

“Thanks Alec” he chirped, almost giddy,

 

Jace glanced between him and Alec suspiciously,

 

“Umm…so…I didn’t ask, how did you end up with them today? Did you like, get assigned the case or something?”

 

Kevin laughed, shaking his head,

 

“Oh, no…just lucky. I was getting off shift when I heard Magnus’s phone. Figured an extra pair of eyes wouldn’t hurt, and really, I’d take any opportunity to see Alec and Magnus work. They’re _amazing_ …

 

 Alec gave a demonstration when I was at academy and since then I’ve heard a lot about his cases…His record’s incredible. Then when he and Magnus started working together…

 

_Wow!_

 

 I still can’t believe I actually know them! Much less get to work with them…

 

The guys at my old precinct are SO jealous!” he boasted, grinning, bouncing lightly on his heels.

 

“Uhh…y-yeah…”  Jace said, deflating.

 

Izzy shook her head faintly…

 

_Yeah, Jace was kind of striking out there._

 

He shook his head, sighing, before turning, glancing over at Clary with a faint smirk,

 

_Oh, hell no! Go back to hitting on Kevin…_

“Oh, hey…I’m Jace by the way. In all this I don’t think we’ve met, and you are?”

 

“A lesbian witch…”

 

“Who’s dating your sister.” Izzy interjected pointedly

 

Clary gave her a bright smile, slipping closer,

 

“We’re dating?”

 

Izzy nodded,

 

“Yup…how’s Saturday?”

 

She shrugged,

 

“Kind of far away…”

 

“Hmm…you’re right…what’s better for you?”

 

“I don’t have any plans tonight…”

 

Izzy chuckled, nodding, slipping her arm around Clary,

 

“It’s a date then.”

 

Magnus smiled softly, shaking his head,

 

“Umm…so…w-when you say witch…you don’t mean, like powers or whatever…right?” Jace joked

 

She shrugged,

 

“Don’t cross me and you won’t have to worry about it.” she said sweetly,

 

He startled, looking at the others for some kind of reassurance,

 

Magnus shrugged,

 

“What? I’m a psychic…I have very eclectic friends…

 

You’ve met Raphael.”

 

Raphael gave Jace a faint nod, sending a sharp smirk and wink his way…

 

Jace moved over a bit further, glancing at Alec.

 

He chuckled, leaning a bit closer to Magnus, slipping his arm around his waist.

 

“Alec?” Jace asked

 

“I don’t know…I generally don’t believe in spells and curses and all that. _Although…_ she DID use what looked an awful lot like a spellbook to make a tea to bring back our memories…

 

Which is working…” he trailed off with a shrug,

 

“Uhh…you made a tea at-?”

 

“My Occult shop.”

 

His eyes widened,

 

“Y-you’re-”

 

“Yup, everything a pagan, wiccan, witch or anything else could ever need for spells, charms, curses…all that fun stuff.” she smirked, before stilling, tilting her head…

 

“Wait… _Jace_? You’re the one who started this whole mess, aren’t you?”

 

His eyes widened faintly, he shook his head quickly,

 

“Umm…N-no…my fr-”

 

She giggled brightly, glancing away

 

“What?” he asked

 

“Oh, I was just thinking how funny you’d look bald.” she said innocently, with a sweet, vaguely mischievous, smile.

 

His eyes widened,

 

“I-I, but th-”

 

“Hey! Shut up, I have something,” Raphael interrupted Jace’s panic,

 

They all moved closer, trying to see…

 

“Look!”

 

“Um…Raph, darling…that’s a floor.”

 

“Yes, it is…it’s the floor at the precinct…and it’s time stamped 12:15. So that’s when we went back there…when you must have left your phone.

 

So we went back to the precinct, looking through the case file again…we must have found some kind of link…

 

I don’t know what…

 

I don’t know how this translates to us ending up with the crossbow b-

 

##  _ Flashback: _

**__ **

_“Shh!” she whispers loudly as they tumble through the window, landing with a soft thud. They make their way through the first floor of the house, Magnus and Alec had slipped round back, her and Raphael coming through the front, keeping low to the ground, trying to search stealthily,_

_She opened the closet,_

_“Now if I was a stolen crossbow…where would I be?” she mumbles_

_Raphael chuckles,_

_“Shh!” she hisses_

_“You shh!” Raphael counters, glancing in a chest next to the coffee table,_

_“I am shushing!” she says rather loudly,_

_“Well you need to shush quieter!”_

_“I’m shushing plenty quiet!”_

_“No you’re n-”_

_“Hey! Who are you and what are you doing in my house!”_

_“Shh!” She says_

_The blond man stares in confusion…lowering the flashlight. He doesn’t seem to have noticed Raphael, who ducks behind the couch, just barely peeking out._

_“W-what?”_

_“Uhh…I umm…Hi,” she said, giving a slightly flirty smile,_

_“You’re cute.”_

_He seemed more confused,_

_She tries again,_

_“I-I think I got the wrong house. I’m staying at a friend’s and I kinda had too much to drink and I lost the key she gave me, so I came through the window…I think she lives across the street.”_

_“Umm…in the blue house?”_

_“Yeah!”_

_“That’s been abandoned for three years.”_

_“I mean the one **next** to the blue house.”_

_“Your friend is Linda?”_

_“Uh huh!”_

_“Linda’s 86 and hates everyone but her cats…”_

_“Um, I-Well, you see…t-the thing about that is that th-”_

_“We got it! let’s GO!” Magnus shouts, running past her and Raphael, out the door, Alec close behind, carrying the crossbow above his head._

_“Hey! What th-” the blond man spins in confusion, she turns to go after them, he catches her arm,_

_She whirls around on reflex, stomps his foot, twists out of his hold, using her momentum to bring him down, hard, he hits the ground with a bit more force than she intended, sprawling on the floor, unmoving…_

_“Oh hell,” she mutters_

_“Did you kill him?” Raphael asks, curiously, not upset, just curious, raising an eyebrow,_

_She shrugs,_

_“I’unno,”_

_“Well, if he’s not dead, he’s gonna be mad, we can’t leave him here.”_

_She tilts her head,_

_“Basement?”_

_“Basement.”_

She gasps…

 

“Uh…guys…we may have a **_slight_** problem…”

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I really love this chapter, it makes me laugh a lot.
> 
>  
> 
> _-Also, just so no one misses a visual during the break in we have Izzy in gold stilettos and a red and gold club kinda top, Magnus in a bright, sparkly purple shirt, Alec in his clubwear and makeup and Raphael in Simon’s PJ’s…-_
> 
> _Just FYI_
> 
> (Don’t worry, he’s fine.)
> 
> I really love Raphael and Izzy as a team…they’d be terrifyingly unstoppable.
> 
> I am having so much fun with this story…
> 
> Love the craziness


	9. A Little Twist (Can Turn On A Dime)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finds more information…  
> And more confusion…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is random, but the table in the cold case room is like a kinda tall drawing table where you can stand around it, kay?
> 
> Okay…

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

 “O-okay…well…there’s no reports of break-in’s from last night…so, no one’s looking for you.” Kevin offered hopefully, with a somewhat nervous smile.

 

“So…t-that’s something…”

 

After Izzy’s flash they’d headed to the precinct to check if any reports had been filed that matched her memory.

 

There hadn’t…

 

So, either the guy who stole the crossbow hadn’t reported the break in _(as he **was** in possession of stolen goods)…_

 

 _Or_ he was still in the basement and unconscious/dead/ ** _really_** pissed off.

 

In any case, to figure out who he was they had to follow their trail from the night before.

 

It seemed, after their shopping spree they’d went to the precinct. They stopped by the last shop from the previous evening, retrieving Raphael’s card, seeing if they could get any more information, but it was a bust. A man was working the counter today. He knew nothing about last night, except that he was extremely jealous of the woman’s commission.

 

Apparently it was his shift but he called her at the last moment to fill in so he could go on a date, which turned out to be a disaster.

 

They’d retrieved Raphael’s card, leaving quickly as they could, extricating themselves from the chatty sales clerk…they had their own problems at the moment.

 

Like the fact that while hopped up on some weird herb concoction they’d apparently broken into someone’s house, stolen an (already stolen) crossbow, knocked out and subsequently locked the home owner/apparent crossbow thief, in the basement.

 

There were enough photos between the ones of Alec gawking at a shirtless Magnus and the Precinct floor for them to piece together their route.

 

They’d backtracked to the apartment, dropping off their bags, then headed back out, making their way to the precinct. They had caught  a car, it was light blue and driven by a woman with a blonde pixie cut, several tattoos, an eyebrow ring, and a bright smile (they had numerous photos with her).

 

From there it got a bit murky…the pictures becoming more infrequent.

 

There was a few at the station around midnight…some outside at random, indecipherable places, a few of the moon, a picture of a weird topiary kinda thing that looked like some kind of bird or fish, then quite a few at the club- Apparently, that’s where he took the photo that is now Alec’s background _(Which he’s caught Alexander staring at no less than five times)_

 

That reminded him… he needed to text Dot and have her forward him the video of them dancing.

 

The memory had slipped back…thankfully when the others were distracted by Clary’s terrifying of Jace…

 

He was incredibly grateful for having a decent poker face…

 

**_Oh my god_ ** **…**

 

_The video did NOT do it justice…_

 

_Speaking of Alexander_

 

 “You find anything?” he asked curiously, leaning over Magnus’s shoulder, fitting perfectly against him, hand resting casually at his waist.

 

_Mmmm…_

_He wasn’t sure what was going on, but something had changed…_

_Maybe it was them dancing, or the picture, or Alexander had another memory that he’d yet to share. Whatever it was, Magnus was extremely appreciative of it…_

_And if it was a memory, he couldn’t wait till he got it back, too…_

_Alexander was different…he was close, even more so than usual, he was playful…bordering on flirty,_

_It was sexy as hell…_

**_Also_ ** _, distracting as hell…but he couldn’t really bring himself to care._

_Not when said distraction was because he had Alexander right **there** ; brushing against him, nearly whispering in his ear, seemingly unable to keep his hands off of Magnus…_

 

Alec slid closer still, hand at his waist squeezing slightly…

Magnus had to bite his lip to keep in a sound that was most definitely not appropriate for work.

_Yeah…he was more than okay with this kind of distraction,_

 

He glanced over the file from the ’08 case Magnus currently had spread out on the table.

 

 The others were going through the rest of the box. Photos of the symbols and items taken, a footprint from the scene, a few fibers, and other miscellaneous things…It was nothing really, but it was all they had.

 

He shook his head, leaning back against Alexander slightly,

 

“No, nothing yet…I really do not know how we came to connect the two…how this even came up. It’s from over a decade ago.” He shrugged

 

Alec nodded, leaning in even closer, kind of hooking his chin over Magnus’s shoulder to see, reading through the notes, his cheek brushing lightly against Magnus’s.

 

 

He grasped the table a bit tighter, trying to keep his balance, legs suddenly feeling like rubber. He leaned back further into Alexander, just barely managing to keep in a sigh (or moan).

 

He was REALLY wishing the others were somewhere else…

 

 ** _Anywhere_** else…

            

At least out of earshot…

_Damn helpful friends…And Jace_

_Especially Jace_

_Damn Jace_

_Jace…Jace…Jace…Jace_

_Okay, that was enough of a turn off…_

_He could probably focus now._

 

He sighed faintly, shaking his head,

 

“I really just don’t get it…” he huffed slightly,

 

“Hmm…what about what was taken? Anything there?”

 

“Not really. Three daggers, a shield, and a sword…and of course our crossbow…”

 

“They’re all weapons…well, except for the shield…though it is used with weapons, and I guess in a pinch it could work for offence…but-”

 

“That is not the only connection.” Raphael interrupted, drifting over, glancing over the info, laying the photos of the stolen objects on the table as well. The other’s followed, circling the table.

 

Magnus tilted his head,

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“They’re all instruments of war, but more to that, they are ancient ones. The bow is from the 1500’s, the others are from similar time periods, maybe that’s something?”

 

The others nodded consideringly,

 

“Well…the ones that were taken, they were in a traveling exhibit…you said Mrs. Lawery was going to have it in one…” Kevin offered, shyly

 

Magnus nodded consideringly

 

“That very well might be darling, thank you.”

 

He beamed, excitedly,

 

_Magnus tried to make a point of complimenting the guy, he was just so sweet and so eager to help…Plus it was adorable how thrilled he was when one of them complimented him._

 

“So, they were being exhibited…maybe that was why they were taken, or it’s just when they were most vulnerable…”

 

“The notes at the scenes said they were cultural heritage; they’d be returned to their rightful homes.” Clary supplied

 

“Yes…it did…so, whoever took them saw those items as already stolen. A few of them, two of the daggers and the shield, were owned by private collectors who bought them at auction…

 

Heaven only knows how they ended up there,

 

The others were donated to the exhibit…anonymously, which is a huge red flag in and of itself.

 

It would seem the person who did this truly felt they were doing the right thing.”

 

Clary gasped, eyes widening slightly,

 

“The markings on them…all of them, none of them were just standard weapons. They had details, markings, family crests. These weren’t just weapons; they were made for specific families.

 

The ones on the bow show the same thing!”

 

“So the items belonged to specific families, not just the government or army. They didn’t mean they’d be returned to the people, they’d be returned to the families!” Alec said chuckling, hugging Magnus faintly

 

“That’s why they were never recovered, they weren’t given to ‘the people’ they were returned to the family they belonged to in the first place…” Simon said, excitedly, bouncing, he leaned over, kissing Raphaels cheek happily

 

“So…maybe the same person took the crossbow from the Lawery’s… returning it to the rightful owner?” Kevin suggests

 

Simon shook his head faintly,

 

“Well…no…that won’t really work. The crossbow was a family heirloom, it was made for them. Edmund Lawery boasted about it constantly, Astrid said it was his pride and joy, passed down through the generations. It WAS in its right home…”

 

Magnus gave a sudden, bright laugh, startling the others,

 

He laughed again, moving over between the two, slipping one arm around Simon and the other around Kevin, quickly kissing both on the cheek. Simon chuckled, knowing what that meant, Kevin stammered, blushing brilliantly,

 

“W-wha-um-huh-”

 

Simon shook his head leaning around Magnus,

 

“That means he solved it.”

 

“Oh,” Kevin nodded, still blushing,

 

Magnus laughed again, shaking his head,

 

_Yes he did…_

_Well…at least part of it…_

_But really, if he could solve the crime from a decade ago, the one from earlier this week should be a piece of cake…_

 

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

He couldn’t stop a slight laugh at Magnus’s enthusiasm. He loved this part, when he figured it out, everything falling into place. He would get so animated, so excited. It was impossibly endearing.

 

_He was just SO happy…_

 

Something they could hopefully talk about on their first date…

 

He tries to tramp down the giddiness that thought causes.

 

_Okay, you need to cool it._

_Don’t get ahead of yourself…you haven’t even asked him out yet. And you don’t even know if he’d want to date you, or if he really seriously dates in general._

_He might not want an actual relationship. He might just like casual. And that is okay._

_Don’t push too much and scare him off…_

_You don’t want to put too much pressure on this… take it one step at a time._

_Solve the case…_

_Ask him out…_

_Keep it casual, low key…don’t go too serious too fast._

_Be Cool…_

 

Alec shook his head faintly, smiling.

 

“Well…don’t keep us in suspense, who did it?” he asked with a faint chuckle, slipping closer.

 

Magnus beamed, eyes bright,

 

“Edmund Lawery.”

 

_Huh?_

 

“Uhh…Magnus, he’s dead…please tell me you’re not saying it was a ghost or something.” he asked; only partly teasing.

 

Magnus rolled his eyes faintly, shaking his head,

 

“No, he didn’t take the _crossbow_ ….” He finished, smirking,

 

“What?” Jace asked

 

“Umm…much as I hate to admit it, I’m kinda with him on this one.” Kevin said, gesturing towards Jace.

 

He glanced around the group but they seemed just as perplexed,

 

He focused on Simon,

 

“Darling, you said it yourself; the crossbow was a family heirloom. Edmund’s pride and joy. Everyone we talked to said how important it was to him. How it was like part of his family, a link to his past.”

 

“Well…yeah, we knew that, but wh-”

 

“It was a tangible link to his past, invaluable in his eyes. He couldn’t imagine someone taking it away from the family…like the other items.” Raphael supplied, raising his eyebrow,

 

Alec gasped slightly,

 

“He was behind the thefts from ’08. He took them to return them to the rightful families, as he would want someone to do with the bow, should it ever fall out of their hands.”

 

Magnus beamed, turning to Alec, grabbing him and tugging him down into a quick, happy kiss,

 

Alec couldn’t help a slightly giddy smile at that, or from tightening his arm around Magnus.

 

_Easy…don’t get too carried away…_

_You don’t want to blow it…_

“Exactly!”

 

“Edmund was on the board of numerous historical societies and museums…including the Santa Barbra Heritage Museum, where the exhibit was being held.

 

He would have gotten a preview of it. He saw the items, the crests, unique markings, and realized that they weren’t just random objects; they were part of these families histories, which they had lost.”

 

Raphael nodded, leaning forward,

 

“Also, He was in tech, he knew security systems in and out. I thought his name sounded familiar, his company RevolutionTech designed a lot of the security systems at the labs on my route. He’d of known them like the back of his hand, including how to get around them.

 

He designed cutting edge security …getting past an outdated system at an old museum with lax funding would be nothing.”

 

Magnus shook his head, deflating slightly,

 

“The only thing is, there’s no real link…how would w-”

“Hey, wait” Alec said, leaning forward...

 

Magnus tilted his head, glancing back at him,

 

“What is it darling?”

 

He reached over, pointing at one of the documents,

 

“After the break in the entire security system was upgraded…it was a donation, from-”

 

 _“RevolutionTech.”_ Magnus finished excitedly,

 

He reached over, grabbing Alec and pulling him down into another, not quite as quick, kiss

 

He tugged Magnus a bit closer, lingering

 

_Hmmm…_

_Wait…don’t get carried away…_

_You’re casual…relaxed…not pushing for anything…_

_Also, there are six other people here, including you sister…_

_Cool it…_

_At least until you talk to him…_

He pulls back slightly, breaking the kiss, still keeping close,

 

 “You are amazing!” Magnus exclaimed

 

“So are you” Alec murmured, locking eyes with him

 

_Easy…Casual…don’t go too serious too fast…_

 

Magnus blushed slightly, leaning back in,

 

Alec’s hand at his waist tightened a bit, pulling him a little closer,

 

“Umm…” Jace starts awkwardly

 

Alec sighs,

 

_This was the last time he brought his brother along on a case,_

_Excuse to flirt with/be close to/kiss Magnus,_

_Whatever_

_Cool it…_

_Remember…_

_Too much too fast would be bad…_

_Or really, **really** good…_

_No…Stop…_

_People…sister…annoying brother…_

_Focus…_

 

Mood officially broken, he turns to Jace, raising an eyebrow,

 

He looks thoroughly confused,

 

“How does this lead to the stolen crossbow?”

_He was even more annoying when he actually stumbled onto relevant questions…_

 

 “That…I don’t know.” Alec admitted

 

Magnus nodded,

 

“I am rather unsure on that myself. Perhaps it is time we talk to our client.”

 

He pulls out his phone, clicking her number, hitting the speaker button,

 

“Hello?”

 

“Good afternoon Mrs. Lawery, this is Magnus, good news, we have recovered the crossbow, we will return it soon, though we still need it for the investigation a bit longer, no worries though, we will have it cracked in no time. We actually had a few questions about the case…”

 

There was silence for a moment

 

“Umm…Magnus…are you quite alright? I called you yesterday, there isn’t a case, it was returned…”

_Huh?_

 

They all exchanged confused looks, before glancing as one over to where said crossbow was setting unassumingly on the table.

_Oookay…maybe they weren’t quite as close to solving this as it seemed._

_That was okay…_

_He’d waited this long…he could wait a bit longer_

_Maybe…_

_No…_

_Cool it…_

_Remember…Casual…relaxed…no pressure…_

 

“It was returned?” Magnus inquired, quirking his eyebrow

_It was really cute_

****

**_Casual_ ** _…_

 

“Yes… anonymously to the house with an apology note…said it was a mistake, they regret it and they are sorry.”

 

“You are sure it is the crossbow?”

 

“Yes…I am looking at it right now.”

 

Magnus sighed

 

“So am I.”

_Yeah…this was gonna be a bit longer…but he could wait. Take it slow...be casual…There was no pressure…_

 

##  _ Flashback: _

**__ **

_The lights are out, it’s cool and quiet and wonderfully peaceful. He is stretched out comfortably, Magnus tucked securely against him. He sighs contentedly, snuggling in more, his head resting on Alec’s chest, hand lazily sliding over his side. His arm is around Magnus, hand rubbing over his back in slow, soothing, circles._

_Magnus gives a soft contented hum, nestling in more. His hand on Alec’s side stills, his breathing evens out, becoming deeper, rhythmic, lulling Alec to sleep himself._

_Sighing softly, he tugs Magnus a bit closer. He leans down, nuzzling against his hair, pressing a soft, gentle kiss._

_“I love you” he whispers softly, barely a breath, just as he drifts off, knowing no dream he has could even began to compare to this..._

Alec gasps softly, blinking, shaking his head, coming back to himself

 

“Damnit…” he whispers

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Magnus thinking of Jace to calm down…
> 
> I know the case is a bit odd, but just go with it…
> 
> I love the end…
> 
> Poor Alec is in SO far over his head.
> 
> What do you think


	10. The Same…Only Different…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **_The team tries to figure out why there are now two ‘one of a kind’ crossbows’..._ **
> 
> **_Magnus tries to figure out Alec…(The crossbow is easy compared to that)_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes
> 
> Hey! I am still here! Sorry for the delay, I keep getting distracted, appearently I am writing the last three chapters on shuffle.
> 
> Yesterday I finished chapter 12
> 
> Today I started this part, then I got sidetracked and accidently wrote the first part of chapter 11…
> 
> So, technically I only have about 1/2 a chapter left to write…it’s just the part that is between the parts I have now…
> 
> Oops…
> 
>  

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

“Well…that does appear to be the crossbow…”

 

Magnus shook his head, glancing at the crossbow in the cabinet, right where it was supposed to be.

 

“Yes it does…” Astrid Lawery said, nodding faintly,

 

He shifted, sitting their findings, wrapped in Alexander’s suit jacket, on the desk in front of the cabinet unwrapping it, to reveal a seemingly identical crossbow. 

 

“Unfortunately, so does this…”

 

 “I am afraid I don’t understand.” Mrs. Lawery said, baffled,

 

“Edmund always said it was one of a kind, made especially for his family…was he mistaken?”

 

Magnus glanced at the others before looking back at the items.

 

“Hmm…”

 

They gathered around,

 

“No, I do not think so…”Raphael said, leaning in, Magnus followed suit, tilting his head.

 

“So…you’re thinking one is a copy?” Simon asked, glancing over at his boyfriend.

 

Raphael nodded,

 

“Yes, I agree darling…” Magnus supplied

 

The others leaned in curiously,

 

"They seem identical…it’s like one of those annoying ‘find the difference’ pictures…” Simon muttered

 

“Yeah…never really understood why that was supposed to be ‘fun’” Kevin quipped, shaking his head,

 

Simon huffed, nodding 

 

“Oh they weren’t that bad” Magnus shrugged dismissively,

 

Raphael quirked his eyebrow,

 

“Of course they weren’t for _you_ …you could find all of them in under a minute.”

 

“True…”

 

“How is that even possible?” Mrs. Lawery asked,

 

“Hmm…well…it looks to be a near exact copy…the differences are almost indistinguishable.” Magnus murmured, tilting his head

 

“Though, on the copy the carvings are not as deep. They have been accented with some kind of stain to make them more distinctive, and the small amount of gold inlay is burnished with a slightly different finish. In addition, the original has a few faint Knicks and scrapes.

 

Other than that, they are identical. Whoever made the duplicate knew what they were doing; there is amazing attention to detail.

 

It would've taken a great amount of work, and there is no way it was created in a day or two…it had to have at least taken a week, possibly more.

 

When was the last time you saw it?”

 

She paused, thinking…

 

“Umm…when I picked it up from the appraisers I believe…Oh, no, wait. Wednesday I saw it. I had to come in here to get a few of Edmunds papers…I wasn’t specifically _looking_ for it, but they were in the drawer in front of the case, no way I wouldn’t have noticed it missing.”

 

Clary tilted her head, looking closer at the fake crossbow. She shook her head faintly.

 

“There’s no way this was made in less than a week. The way the stain is in the carvings. I’ve used that technique before…it takes a few different layers, and you have to let each dry completely. Each layer takes close to a day to dry. I can see at least three. If they were trying to make it as believable as possible the only way to do that would be to use stains made with only natural elements. Most of them have a very strong scent...it lingers for weeks. It would smell kind of fruity and spicy.

 

It doesn’t, so this is at least a month old.” she finished, glancing at the others.

 

They looked surprised, and vaguely impressed.

 

Well, _most_ of them just looked vaguely impressed,

 

“Wow…” Izzy breathed shaking her head faintly in amazement

 

Clary smiled, shrugging, pushing her hair back, self-consciously,

 

“What?”

 

Izzy just shook her head again, giving a faint, slow smile, and leaning a bit closer,

 

“That’s amazing.”

 

“T-thank you.” Clary said, sounding almost shy.

 

“So…you made something like this?”

 

She shrugged,

 

“No, not like this, exactly. I have a few sculptures I’ve made using it, and sometimes to make elements for my jewelry; I have a workshop in the back of my shop for all that kind of stuff. ”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Clary nodded, blushing prettily,

 

“Do you think you can you teach me?”

 

“Umm…I-I can…but it takes kind of a long time to learn.” She said apologetically.

 

“Good.” Izzy grinned, winking at her

 

She giggled faintly,

 

“Uhh…so…about the fake crossbow?” Kevin asked timidly

 

They glanced over at him,

 

“Sorry! I am just kinda lost here.” he explained, blushing

 

“Actually, I am too.” Simon offered, shrugging 

 

Kevin shot him a grateful smile,

 

“Hmm…” Raphael began

 

“For someone to make a forgery that skilled they would have to know a great deal about it. They didn’t just make one similar, they copied it nearly detail for detail…they would have had to study-”

 

“So…wait…” Jace interrupted,

 

Raphael raised his eyebrow, Jace moved over, only to realize that put him right next to Clary…he could actually see Jace weighing which one was the bigger threat.

 

Magnus had to hide a chuckle.

 

He glanced over, seeing if Alexander was trying to keep from laughing too, only to falter.

 

He glanced around, spotting him beside Mrs. Lawery, on the far side of the group…

 

 _That was odd_ …

 

Alexander had been pretty much by his side all day.

 

Perhaps it was something for the case? Maybe he spotted something.

 

He moved casually, slipping over to that side, glancing around, but nothing sprung out. He settled in near Alexander, catching his eye and giving him a faint smile.

 

He returned it, but something was off…

 

Magnus turned, refocusing on Jace, trying to ignore the sudden sinking feeling in his stomach.

 

“What were you going to say Jace?”  he asked

 

He seemed to startle, still glancing between Raphael and Clary.

 

“Uhh…I-so…I don’t get it.”

 

“I’m shocked.” Raphael said deadpan.

 

Magnus gave a light chuckle, still watching Alexander…

 

“What do you not get?” he asked

 

“That’s a _long_ list.” Raphael muttered

 

Jace gave a faint glare,

 

Kevin gave a slight cough…it almost managed to cover the laugh _(Almost),_

 

 _“Raph”_ Magnus admonished,

 

_It was entertaining, but he was rather losing the mood for it_

 

Alexander hadn’t really responded to any of it…and he realized he had actually not said anything the entire ride to Mrs. Lawery’s.

 

_Something was definitely up._

_He couldn’t possibly imagine what though…everything was fine at the precinct…great in fact._

_Alexander was happy, smiling, joking…almost flirty…_

_It was lovely…_

_What could have possibly upset him so much so quickly?_

_He really didn’t know_

He turned back to Raphael, raising his eyebrow,

 

Raphael rolled his eyes, but shrugged,

 

“Fine, Jace, what, in this _specific_ situation, is it that you ‘don’t get’?” he asked with a glaringly false interested smile.

 

Jace glared faintly, but nodded,

 

“Well…okay, so she said the fake has to be at least a month old… if whoever took the real one had a replacement, why didn’t they leave it? Wouldn’t that be the whole idea …and why the markings?” he shrugged

 

The others exchanged perplexed looks.

 

Magnus nodded consideringly,

 

“Hmm, that…is actually a very astute question.”

 

He huffed faintly,

 

“You don’t have to sound so surprised.” Jace muttered

 

Magnus glanced over at Alexander…

 

He huffed out an almost laugh, but Magnus could tell he wasn’t really feeling it…

 

_And was he further away again?_

_He tramped down a frown, putting on a mischievous smirk_ _,_

_It was fake but convincing._

“Well…sorry darling, it _is_ rather unprecedented.” he said with a cheeky grin.

 

A few of the others chuckled, Raphael quirked his eyebrow slightly,

 

Magnus shook his head near imperceptibly;

 

_Of course Raph caught it…_

 

He gave a faint nod, gaze suddenly sharper, scanning the group.

 

 He turned to Mrs. Lawery

 

“So, you said up until you found the bow missing there was nothing out of the ordinary, correct?”

 

She nodded, still looking between the two bows, perplexed.

 

“Yes…everything was normal. We found it missing after dinner. We had the fundraiser the evening before. This was a smaller get together, the day would have been Edmunds birthday, it was somewhat akin to a memorial…

 

A few close family friends as well as some of Edmunds old work associates and a few of his friends from various charities as well as his beloved cultural and historical societies. It was a lovely evening; we had a drink before dinner out in the garden. A few of the guests were talking about the museum, and I happened to mention the bow was to be in a show there.

 

I had originally intended for it to be a surprise, but simply couldn’t wait. The only one who knew was Mr. Owens, the appraiser. I swore him to secrecy, even his assistant, Mr. Vance didn’t know.

 

They were all quite surprised as Edmund never would allow that…so worried that something would happen to it. I understood his apprehension but it had just brought him so much pride, I hated to think of it just locked up in here, abandoned.

 

I thought if it was in a few of these perhaps people would know about it, about him, his family. Maybe value their own family’s heritage a little bit more.” She shrugged faintly,

 

Magnus gave her a gentle smile,

 

“That is lovely; he would have quite liked that sentiment.”

 

She smiled

 

“I like to think so.” she said softly

 

“I know so.” Magnus said raising an eyebrow,

 

“Psychic…remember?”

 

She gave a warm smile and a somewhat grateful nod,

 

 “Thank you.”

 

“Of course darling.”

 

“What happened after that?” Alexander asked gently,

 

Magnus realized it was the first thing he’d said, he glanced over at Alexander, catching his eye.

 

He gave a faint, grateful smile and a nod…

 

His eyes were soft for a moment, warm and something else, before he glanced away quickly, focusing back on Mrs. Lawery,

 

As he did Magnus caught a glimpse of something else in his eyes…

 

Just a split second, hardly perceptible…with anyone else it wouldn’t even register…

 

_But Magnus saw it…_

_It made his heart stutter…and not in the usual ‘Alexander’ way._

_He looked sad, almost hopeless…_

_He didn’t know what happened, but it needed to be fixed…_

_Alexander should **never** look like that…_

Magnus took a deep breath, trying to focus, and not just say to hell with it; they had the crossbow, and a spare, call it a day, and focus everything he had on whatever had so upset his Alexander.

 

He shook his head

 

“So…after you told them?”

 

“Well, we came in for dinner; they were quite excited. Only a handful of them had got a chance to see the bow close up.

 

Mr. Owens and Ms. Fisher from the Heritage society couldn’t stop talking about it. She went on about a few of Edmunds favorite stories. They had the entire history, though I believe many of the stories had been quite elaborated over the years…even in the time I’ve been hearing them. Ms. Douglas, the co-owner of Revolutiontech, joined them, adding her own memories of the stories.

 

They became quite caught up in it; Ms. Douglas finally asked if there was any way we could look at it later that evening.

 

Usually I wouldn’t, but she really is a dear girl, and quite fascinated with the history of it. Edmund would talk her ear off about it…she and Mr. Owen began one upping each other, seeing who knew them best.

 

They partly wanted to see it to settle a bet, see who knew what mark was from what story.

 

I finally agreed, curious to see who would win. We decided to see it at the end of the evening, have our coffee, and let them continue comparing notes. We finally went in to see it about 10:30 the case was empty and those marks were everywhere.” She shrugged

 

“So…you had a room full of people quite familiar with the bow. Three of them began competing over which knew the stories better…

 

You were going to have people who literally knew every scratch on it examining it, comparing everything…correct?” Raphael asked, tilting his head

 

_They weren’t just looking at it, it wasn’t a casual viewing they were examining everything…_

 

“They were comparing the scratches, the imperfections…” Magnus gasped, widening his eyes

 

Raphael nodded,

 

Magnus shook his head, turning to address Mrs. Lawery,

 

“I think I know why they didn’t just switch the bows out…They already had …most likely soon after the appraisal. That was at the end of last month, correct?”

 

She nodded, eyes wide,

 

“So, whoever took it?

 

He nodded

 

“Was one of your guests.”

 

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

“I simply cannot believe that…these people were our friends, I couldn’t imagine any of them stealing the bow…” Mrs. Lawery said, wringing her hands.

 

Magnus sighed,

 

“I understand; they are your friends, your husband’s friends…that would be quite difficult to accept.

 

However the existence of a duplicate crossbow, obviously made not only to imitate the original, but be a near indistinguishable copy, it is the only thing that fits.”

 

He pauses, stepping closer, placing his hand sympathetically on her shoulder.

 

“I am sorry to have to tell you this, darling…but it truly is the only thing that fits.”

 

She nods faintly, taking a deep breath.

 

Raphael watches the proceedings, taking everything in, but it’s just not holding his focus…

 

Not now.

He saw the confusion in Magnus’s expression…

The fake, overly cheeky smirk…

_Raphael has known that look since he was twelve years old…_

_It was the look Magnus had when he was trying to seem like everything was okay, when the only thing he was truly certain of is that it most definitely was not..._

 

Instantly he’s on high alert.

 

He shifts his gaze from Magnus and Mrs. Lawery over to where Alec is standing.

 

Several feet away from Magnus…

 

_When did that happen?_

They were good back at the precinct… _annoyingly_ so,

 

Alec hadn’t left Magnus’s side since they woke up together. He half expected Magnus to suggest they split up for some reason, just to get Alec alone for a bit.

 

It almost seemed like they were going to FINALLY figure out what every person who saw them together knew pretty much instantly…

 

They were completely **_gone_** over each other…

 

That wasn’t thirty minutes ago…

 

_What could have changed so much so quickly?_

He shook his head, tuning back into the investigation.

 

“I really hate to think one of them would be responsible for this.” Mrs. Lawery lamented, shaking her head.

 

“Well, at least one of them is. Now we need to figure out who.” He interjected, in a less than compassionate manner.

 

Simon raised his eyebrow at his tone, but Raphael just shook his head faintly,

 

He was suddenly lacking the patience to deal with coddling the woman. Simon seemed to understand, he gave a sweet smile, stepping closer to Mrs. Lawery.

 

“Mrs. Lawery, I wish there was another option, but this is really the only one that makes sense, at least right now. Maybe when we get more information there will be a better explanation.

 

The only way we will be able to know for sure is to follow the evidence…” he shrugged apologetically

 

Mrs. Lawery gave a faint nod,

 

“Yes, I suppose you are right dear…how can I help?”

 

Simon gave her a brilliant smile

 

“Thank you so much ma’am.”

 

Raphael breathed a sigh of relief, as always grateful to have Simon. His impatience and abruptness could have really set them back here; it would not do to have the client upset or defensive. That would only drag this out even more.

 

He really couldn’t have that…

 

_The sooner they got whatever the hell this idiocy was solved, the sooner he could figure out what was wrong with his friends._

_May as well speed this up a bit…_

He shifted closer,

 

“That would be greatly appreciated.” He reached over, taking Mrs. Lawery’s hand lightly, putting on his most apologetic, charming smile,

 

“I apologize for sounding so harsh, that was in no way directed at you. I just find this entire thing so distasteful. Bad enough stealing from a friend, but to steal an engaging, altruistic widow’s late husband’s most cherished possession? A piece of his family history no less… it is just sickening.” He sighed, shaking his head, squeezing her hand gently, giving a somewhat sheepish smile

 

“I truly did not intend to snap at you madam…please accept my apology.” he said hopefully

 

She made a slight almost giggle, blushing faintly,

 

“Oh…umm…t-that’s quite alright. Thank you for your concern.”

 

He gave a relieved sigh, glancing inconspicuously around the group.

 

Simon was smirking, rolling his eyes faintly,

 

Kevin and Izzy were trying to keep from laughing, both looking vaguely impressed,

 

Jace looked thoroughly confused…so, his usual expression…

 

Alec had a faint smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes…

 

_Yeah something was clearly up…_

Magnus appeared to be politely paying attention to the case and Mrs. Lawery, but Raphael could see all his focus was on Alec.

 

_Okay, they needed to move this along…_

“Thank you again…now can you tell us about your guest that evening?”

 

She nodded, still blushing faintly

 

“Well…we had ten, including myself; Mrs. Reynolds and her husband Gavin, Ms. Douglas and her Wife, Laura, Mr. Owens and his partner, Tyler, Mr. Vance, Ms. Fisher, and Mr. Lockheart, and myself…of course.”

 

Magnus tilted his head.

 

“Hmm…I do believe we can eliminate Mr. Owens, as well as Ms. Douglas and Ms. Fisher…they were the ones who began the contest, if one of them were the forger they would not have continued the discussion.”

 

“Also, they would have known to include the scratches and other marks of ware.” Simon interjected

 

Raphael gave him a pleased, somewhat proud smile,

 

Magnus tilted his head, considering,

 

“Well…whoever made the duplicate put in extensive detail. Enough to recreate it perfectly, but was not familiar enough with it as to include the flaws. That would rule out anyone who had spent a great deal of time listening to Edmunds anecdotes.

 

That should help narrow it down …” Magnus offered

 

She thought for a moment shrugging.

 

“Well, Sarah Reynolds would know the stories probably better than any of the others. She and Edmund had been friends all their lives. Their families were friends. I know she would never do this…and she had heard the stories, not only from Edmund, but from his family as well, there is no way she would have missed those.”

 

Simon nodded encouragingly.

 

“That is really good. So that gets us down to five…what about the others? Were any of the others overly interested in the bow?”

 

She sighed faintly,

 

“I really cannot believe any of them would do something like this-”

 

“I know, it must be exceptionally heard. But we have to look at all of them.” Magnus offered

 

“Try to distance yourself, think of it objectively…just tell me about the others, and how they were that evening.”

 

She gave a faint nod,

 

“Hmm…well…Honestly with the exception of Sarah’s husband, the other four guests really only seemed politely interested.

 

Sarah’s husband, Gavin, is a history professor at Santa Barbra University. He was quite fascinated with the bow, but he did seem quite eager to get a chance to examine the bow close up, he didn’t even want to wait till after dinner.

 

Laura, Ms. Douglas’s wife, really didn’t have much interest in it, and honestly, she’s an elementary school teacher, I couldn’t see her stealing a candy bar, much less a priceless ancient weapon.

 

The same with Tyler Summers, David Owens’s partner. He is quite polite, but I think he finds the topic rather boring. After the first half hour of their competition he was alternating between politely chatting with Mr. Vance and subtly messing around on his phone.

 

 Mr. Vance, Quentin, is David’s assistant. He’s been working with him for a few years. He is wonderfully charming and very helpful, we’ve had quite a few dealings with Mr. Owens and Quentin is always so friendly and pleasant.

 

Devon Lockheart worked with Edmund and Chris, _oh_ , that’s Ms. Fisher, at Revloutiontech. He was one of the first people they hired and a dear friend. He listened to Edmunds stories, but was nowhere near as involved in them as Chris. I think he just listened more to be polite…”

 

She shook her head,

 

“That is all of them…as I said, I really couldn’t see any of them doing this.”

 

“Hmm…I can see why, none of them really sound like the type.” Izzy murmured

 

Kevin nodded,

 

“And that was everyone at the house?”

 

“Well…that was all the guests. We had dinner catered from Armando’s, and I had a few staff members…

 

Do you think it may be one of them?” She asked hopefully

 

Raphael shook his head faintly,

 

“I am sorry ma’am, but I really don’t believe so. Whoever created the copy did exceptional work, and had amazing attention to detail. I suppose it would be possible that someone disguised themselves as a server or staff member in an attempt to gain access, but they would have had to do it more than once. And going to see the Bow was a spur of the moment idea, they couldn’t have planned for that.”

 

Her face fell slightly,

 

“Oh…that is true. So it was one of my guests.”

 

He nodded faintly.

 

“So…who could it be?”

 

They all exchanged slightly unsure looks…none of them really seemed the type.

 

“Huh…” Magnus muttered,

 

Everyone turned to him,

 

“What is it?” Alec asked, seemingly finally joining in with the investigation.

 

Raphael realized it was only about the second thing he’d said since they arrived.

 

_They really needed to get this settled so he could figure out what the hell that was all about._

“Mr. Vance wasn’t interested in seeing the bow? That seems peculiar…”

 

Raphael nodded faintly,

 

“It really is. He was Owens’s assistant, you said for years…I’d assume he would be extremely interested…

 

Tell me, how did he react when you mentioned the bow was to be in the show?”

 

She shrugged, thinking,

 

“I don’t know. He seemed surprised, but they all where. He asked when it would be.”

 

“Hmm…and how about when you said they could see the bow that night?”

 

She thought for a moment.

 

“H-he was surprised, totally shocked.”

 

“And…did he leave the group at any time?” Magnus pressed

 

She nodded, eyes wide,

 

“Well…yes, now that you mention it, he did. He had a call from his boyfriend, he stepped away for a moment to take it, seemed they were having a bit of a tiff and didn’t want to bring down the dinner.”

 

“So…this Vance guy, does he, by chance have any kind of issues with his hands?” Clary asked seemingly at random

 

Mrs. Lawery quirked an eyebrow,

 

“Yes, actually he does. He had a small accident at the beginning of this year. It wasn’t too serious, but he ended up spraining his wrist and breaking two fingers. They are mostly healed, but still give him trouble from time to time.

 

Why?”

 

Clary smirked, glancing over at Magnus,

 

He gave an impressed, proud smile before turning back to Mrs. Lawery,

 

 “We have reason to believe whoever created the Marks in the room had an issue with their dexterity, explaining the sloppiness of them.”

 

Izzy gasped,

 

“Mrs. Lawery, this Vance…he wouldn’t be a kinda tall blond guy, with blue eyes, would he?”

 

She tilted her head, curiously,

 

“Umm…no. He’s about average height, with dark brown hair and eyes…”

 

“Oh…” Izzy said, slumping faintly,

 

_Huh…they really seemed to be onto something, but this ‘Vance’ guy seemed the polar opposite of the man from the house._

_It had to have been the right house though, they found the crossbow there…_

_So it couldn’t have just been a mistake…_

_That just didn’t make sense…_

_Well…unless…_

“What about his boyfriend?”

 

She thought for a moment, shaking her head faintly,

 

“I am not sure…I haven’t met him. They don’t really run in the same circles, he’s something or other with movies I believe…”

 

“He’s an actor?” Jace asked, quirking his eyebrow,

 

She shook her head,

 

“No…not acting-”

 

“In the props department?” Alec ventured

 

She nodded,

 

Magnus gave him a warm, impressed smile, nodding,

 

Alec blushed, smiling…but it seemed to falter, it wasn’t false, but it was covering or contradicting some other emotions.

 

He could tell Magnus caught it too, his smile dimmed, turning back to Mrs. Lawery

 

“Yes! That’s it…do you think he created the fake?”

 

“It would stand to reason. Do you know if they live together?”

 

She nodded quickly,

 

“Yes they do. They moved in together last year, I remember him telling me.”

 

“Okay, we just need to fin-”

 

“2124 Maplewood drive… it’s about a twenty minute drive from here.” Raphael interrupted

 

The others nodded, already moving towards the door,

 

He turned to Mrs. Lawery,

 

“Thank you for your help ma’am. As soon as we know for sure we will let you know.” He assured giving her one more reassuring smile before turning and striding out the door with the rest of the group.

 

##  _ 20 Minutes later _

 

As they pulled up the street things begin to look familiar, resembling some of the as of yet indiscernible photos between the precinct and club.

 

A dented light post, a mailbox with a bit of graffiti, a house with **_way_** too many lawn gnomes, it seemed they were heading in the right direction.

 

 They park on the street, right in front of the address.  Raphael had driven his car, Simon, Izzy and Clary riding with him. Magnus followed with Alec, Kevin and Jace.

 

As he climbs out of the car something catches his eye.

 

“Hey, didn’t the blond guy say something about a cranky cat lady and a blue house across the street?” he asked, turning to Izzy.

 

She nodded, following his gaze across the street, seeing a pale blue house next to a slightly faded yellow house with three cats sitting in the picture window.

 

“This is beginning to look familiar…I think we may be at the right place.” Magnus said, slipping up next to them.

 

“Yeah, I really don’t think there are too many of those topiaries around.” Simon said, gesturing to the weird fish/bird topiary thing in the yard next door

 

“At least I really hope not, that thing is creepy looking…why would you choose something like that?” he asked, shaking his head

 

Kevin laughed slightly, nodding

 

They made their way up the walk, flashes of the night before slipping back.

 

_This was definitely the place…he remembered this walk, them slipping up to the house, picking the lock on the window…_

 

“Guys, this is the place…”

 

Alec nodded faintly, moving to the front of the group, knocking abruptly at the door.

 

There was no answer…

 

He tried louder, they listened but heard nothing.

 

Alec reached forward, cautiously trying the doorknob…

 

It was unlocked.

 

He pushed it open, cautiously,

 

“Hello, Detective Lightwood, SBPD, is anyone here?” he called

 

They listened, glancing around,

 

Simon shook his head,

 

“Maybe they r-”

 

A sudden thundering, frantic knocking startled them, making the entire group jump

 

“ _Hello!_  Is someone there? I’m in here, help!” A faintly muffled voice shouted, punctuated with more knocking,

 

They rushed through the house into the kitchen, zeroing in on what appeared to be the basement door.

 

“Hey! Is someone out there?” the voice called hopefully,

 

The group exchanged guilty glances,

 

“Yeah, I’m Detective Lightwood with the SPBD, just a sec…we’ll get you out.” Alec said apologetically

 

Izzy shrugged,

 

Alec shook his head,

 

_She couldn’t really be held accountable for what she did while drugged…and the guy didn’t seem hurt, just annoyed…_

 

“Let’s just find the key so we can get h-”

 

While he was talking Raphael slipped forward, pulling a small lock pick from his pocket, slipping it in, deftly popping the lock, quickly and cleanly.

 

Alec raised his eyebrow,

 

Raphael just shrugged, smirking faintly,

 

“Magnus teach you that?”

 

“Nope…”

 

 “Do I want to know?”

 

“Probably not.”

 

He raised his eyebrow, before nodding faintly,

 

“ _Okay_ _then_ …” he muttered, reaching over to open the door.

 

The man practically tumbled out.

 

 _“Oh thank god!”_ he exclaimed, shaking his head,

 

“Some crazy people broke in a-…” he trailed off looking over the group, eyes wide, backing away faintly,

 

“Oh my god! It’s you; you came back…you were lying about being a cop w-”

 

Alec shook his head, holding his hands up placatingly,

 

“Sir…it’s okay, I wasn’t lying, I’m a detective with the SBPD.” he gestured over to Simon

 

“So is he, and he” pointing at Kevin,

 

“Is an officer there as well.” Kevin’s eyes went wide, seemingly at a loss as to what to do, he settled on a faintly awkward wave.

 

“Hey.”

 

Raphael had to hide a faint chuckle, shaking his head.

 

The blond man looked unconvinced, looking over the rest of the group…

 

“And the rest of you?”

 

They all exchange somewhat hesitant looks before shrugging,

 

“Well, _I’m_ an actor, Jace Wayland.” Jace offered with a cocky smirk…

 

The man gave a blank look, shaking his head,

 

“Never heard of you.”

 

The smirk disappeared.

 

Raphael gave a slight bark of laughter,

 

The man turned to him, curiously, quickly glancing over him, then a bit slower, more appreciative,

_He tried to keep the eyeroll internal…_

_They had locked the man in a basement for nearly an entire day after all…_

 

“I’m a pharmaceutical rep,” he shrugged,

 

“Psychic detective,” Magnus supplied with a grin,

 

“Umm…and I’m the medical examiner for the SBPD…sorry about the whole knocking you out thing…it was a reflex.” Izzy offered sheepishly,

 

The guy looked totally lost; he glanced at Clary, the last member of the group,

 

“And you?”

 

“Oh! I’m a Wiccan, I own an occult shop down town.” she said with a bright smile and cheery wave.

 

He glanced over them once more, than back to the basement…clearly wondering if he was safer in there…

_Raphael could empathize…_

 

He stepped forward giving a charmingly apologetic smile,

 

“I realize how peculiar this seems, Mr.…?”

 

“Alan…umm…Alan Jaden.” He answered, blushing faintly

 

“S-so…why did a detective, a medical examiner, and a psychic break into my house and steal a crossbow?”

 

“Why did you have a stolen crossbow in your house?” Raphael countered raising his eyebrow, giving the question a near teasing tone,

 

 _“What?”_ he asked, shocked, frantically shaking his head

 

“It wasn’t stolen, I made it… _you all_ stole it!”

 

Magnus shook his head,

 

“No…you made a duplicate, the one we retrieved from here was the original.”

 

His eyes went wide, shaking his head once more,

 

“No it wasn’t! Why would I have a stolen crossbow? And why did you break into my house…and knock me out?” he demanded, becoming rather agitated,

_The man was already jumpy…it’d be **so** easy to scare him…but that wouldn’t really get the results they needed…_

_Plus…you know_

_Basement…_

 

Raphael slid closer, placing his hand on Alan’s arm, squeezing faintly,

 

“That was completely unintended and quite unfortunate; I admit. I am afraid last night the four of us were rather inebriated, thanks to a short sited, egotistical imbecile…and his hippy stoner friend.”

 

“Hey!” Jace interjected

 

“What?” Raphael snapped, raising his eyebrow, daring him to contradict him,

 

He faltered, stepping back a bit, shaking his head,

 

“N-nothing.”

 

“That’s what I thought.” he smiled sharply, before turning back to Alan…who looked somewhere between nervous and impressed.

 

“Anyways…As I said we were not in our right minds. Before we were dosed with whatever it was, we had been working a case trying to recover the stolen crossbow. I fear in our state we got rather carried away.

 

But you must understand; it’s not just any case.

 

It was stolen from a dear family friend. It belonged to her late husband; it was his most cherished possession, passed down through the generations. She was absolutely beside herself with worry over this, and not in the best health. We truly feared this might land the poor dear in the hospital.

 

When we realized it was here, we had to try to retrieve it, and, in our altered states, things just got rather out of hand. I do hope you won’t hold it against us?”

 

He nodded slightly, blushing, leaning slightly closer,

 

“Oh, no…it’s okay, well, not _okay_ , but that at least almost makes sense…is she alright?” he asked, genuinely concerned…

_Hmm…interesting…_

 

Raphael smiled, giving a faint nod,

 

“Yes, though quite confused…”

 

“Yeah…I am too.” Alan muttered, shaking his head,

 

“You said the crossbow you got from my house was the original…you’re sure of that?”

 

“Yes, positive.”

 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know h-” he froze, eyes going wide,

 

He gave a faint, disbelieving laugh, scoffing,

 

“Oh _,I can’t believe this!_ That conniving, manipulative _jackass_!”

 

“You mean Quentin Vance?” Magnus asked

 

He nodded animatedly,

 

“Yes! He asked me to make it…brought pictures of the original.”

 

He paused shaking his head,

 

“ _I_ _swear_ , I had no idea it was for anything like this…he just so admired it and thought this was the next best thing. I was flattered, thinking that he was actually taking an interest in my work. He seemed to like it, but asked why I left off the scratches and such…I didn’t know why he was so caught up on them. I got annoyed at him and just told him never mind, setting it in the closet by the back door, as far as I knew it’s been there ever since.”

 

“Umm…Why isn’t he here now?” Simon asked curiously,

 

“Oh, we had a huge fight Friday night; he was snippy and agitated for the last couple days and wouldn’t tell me why. I finally had enough and told him if he was going to be like that he could find somewhere else to stay until he figured out whatever he had to figure out. I changed the locks that night.”

 

“When did you make the copy?” Alec inquired

 

“Umm…at the end of last month. Why?”

 

“We believe he switched it out with the original not long after that. The evening it was stolen, there was a get together at the widow’s home. A few experts were in attendance and going to examine the bow.

 

He knew they would be able to tell it wasn’t the original. He panicked and staged a robbery. He took it back to the house and was going to switch it back with the original, but you had your argument and he couldn’t get back in to make the switch. By then Mrs. Lawery had us investigating. He decided to just return the copy and hope she bought it.”

 

“So basically, he tricked me into being an accomplice in a forgery, then used a gift I spent weeks on to try to swindle some poor old widow out of her husband’s treasured family heirloom?” Alan asked, rubbing his forehead.

 

“That appears to be the case.” Magnus said apologetically

 

He sighed faintly, before giving a determined nod,

 

“Tell me what you need…”

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

_What an absurd case!_

Magnus knew they’d had some odd ones, but really this one was easily the craziest…

 

_Okay, so at least in the top five…_

_But still…_

An appraisers apprentice got it in his head that he could trick his movie props designer boyfriend into making duplicates of rare, extremely valuable items, switching the copies out for the originals.

 

Thankfully this was just the trial run…but he was already working on the next before the whole investigation started. He’d asked Alan if he could make copies of a 13th century dagger and a few other items.

 

He had the pictures of the items, Alan readily turned them over… assuring them he’d be happy to testify, and help with absolutely anything else he could.

 

_Of course, he said this while blatantly staring at **Raphael** , but still…helpful_

 

He was able to fill in a few of the blanks.  When they’d mentioned the markings he seemed to clam up…

 

Turns out he in fact knew all about the ’08 break in. It seems Edmund had told the story to Mr. Owens, swearing him to secrecy.

 

Which he took _very_ seriously…

 

When he was sober.

 

Turns out on one occasion he’d told Vance, who had, in turn, told it to Alan.

 

He was really quite hesitant about talking about it; he actually thought what Edmund had done was pretty impressive, and didn’t want to disparage the deceased mans good name, or cause any legal trouble for the widow.

 

Once they’d assured him that no ill will would befall her (As the statute of limitations on the case had long passed and the items were actually returned to people they should have belonged to in the first place) he had finally confirmed what they already knew.

 

It didn’t take Vance an hour to totally break, confessing to everything.

 

It seems he had heard a great deal about the crossbow. When Astrid had brought it in to be appraised Mr. Owens had mentioned how attached Edmund was to it, telling him over the years he had had offers pushing a hundred thousand, but Edmund would never part with it.

 

Vance hatched his plan, duping his boyfriend into making the copy, the day after the original was returned he went over and switched them out.

 

He thought he was in the clear. He was in negotiations with several buyers…he was holding onto it to see just how high the bidding would go.

 

Than at the party, when he realized they were going to see the bow, that everyone there would know it was a fake…he panicked, taking the bow, hurriedly making the marks as best he could from what he remembered, hoping it would be enough to throw investigators off…

 

It didn’t work and the jackass was now unemployed (Mr. Owen fired him on the spot), single (Alan simply told them when they found him to tell him he was a miserable bastard and his stuff would be out on the lawn) and, homeless.

 

Thankfully, he’d have 3-8 years to figure all that out.

 

_At least they had it settled…_

_Well, the whole crossbow problem…_

_Now there was the whole ‘Alexander’ problem…_

_He has an inkling of a feeling the crossbow was the easy part._

They were back at the precinct, as they were technically not on an official case, the paperwork was a bit tricky but they were finally getting it all sorted out…as well as the closure of the ’08 case.

 

It was quite a lot…

 

Kevin left not long after their arrival; almost bouncing he was so giddy at being included in the groups adventure, eager to tell some of his friends from his old precinct.

 

The others had long since gone…Raphael had given Izzy, Clary and Jace a ride back to Jace’s to retrieve Izzy’s car, before looping back for Simon.

 

Magnus was worried he’d question him, knowing he noticed the change in Alexander, but he’d just gave Magnus a reassuring smile, before starting to subtly get the other’s out without tipping them off.

 

Magnus smiled softly…

 

_Raphael may be a lot of things, but he truly was the best friend Magnus had ever had._

He glanced up just as Alec is leaving Luke’s office, giving him a bright smile.

 

He slows slightly, a flicker of something that makes Magnus’s heart hurt flashed across his expression, but is gone as quick as it appeared.

 

Magnus tries to keep his smile from falling,

 

“Hey Magnus…I thought you were done over an hour ago?” he asked curiously, glancing around.

 

He nodded

 

“I was, but as I was your ride here I couldn’t very well just leave you stranded.”

 

He smiled softly,

 

“You didn’t have to do that…I could have just called for a ride.”

 

“Nonsense! I was already here, and it wasn’t any trouble. Besides, situation reversed you would do the same…do not even try to tell me otherwise.” He finished, with a cheeky smirk.

 

Alec gave a faint laugh, nodding

 

“Yeah, that’s true…thanks.”

 

“Of course, sweetheart. Come along now, it’s been a long day…” he finished with a warm smile, slipping his arm around Alexander’s, beginning towards the door.

 

He felt Alexander slip a bit closer, sighing softly, nodding,

 

“You are right about that.”

 

Magnus shrugged

 

“Of course, my darling detective, I’m always right…you know that.”

 

He chuckled faintly, but it didn’t sound quite right.

 

Magnus squeezed his arm a bit, leaning into his side faintly.

 

Alexander seemed to stiffen up a bit, standing straighter (And further away),

 

Magnus pretended he didn’t notice,

 

“Besides…I’d have to go over anyways to bring over all your bedding that is still at the apartment. Judging by the living room it is pretty much every bedding item you own.”

 

He gave a faint laugh…

 

Once again it wasn’t quite right…

 

_Once again, Magnus pretended it didn’t hurt..._

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ______________End Of Chapter Notes___________
> 
> * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -
> 
> Okay…now it’s done…
> 
> Sorry for the kind of downer ending…remember we are getting there…
> 
> Hope you all like it…


	11. Reality Comes Crashing Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Okay…so…remember when I said no angst?_
> 
> _…I may have lied a bit…_
> 
> _I’d say I’m sorry, but I know where I’m going and I swear it will be worth it._
> 
> _(Oh come on! The next one is like the Season Fanalie…there has to be a BIT of tension!)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just FYI Chapter 10 ended up with 3 parts, if you didn't read all of them you may want to go back...

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

“Okay…I am fairly certain this was one of the craziest days I’ve ever had…and with me, that is saying a lot.” Magnus muttered, shaking his head, helping carry the last of Alec’s bedding and shopping bags in, using his foot to push the door closed.

 

Alec nodded faintly.

 

 “It really was.”

 

Alec glances once more over the bags, shaking his head slightly.

 

“You know…I feel kind of bad taking all this…you guys sure you don’t want to take at least some of it back?”

 

Magnus rolled his eyes,

 

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous! Of course you are going to keep them. It took mind altering mystery herbs and a hunt for an ancient crossbow to get you to let us take you shopping… pretty sure that is not going to happen again.”

 

“Okay, okay! Fine I’ll keep them.” Alec said with a bit of a laugh.

 

Magnus shook his head,

 

“No, but really…We spent an entire day trying to recover yesterday and ended up solving not only our case but a decade old, cold case, while totally out of it on some kind of crazy herb concoction whipped up by your idiot brothers’ idiot friend!”

 

Alec gave a small smile,

 

Magnus paused, tilting his head,

 

“Sweetheart…is everything alright?”

 

He shrugged,

 

“Yeah…fine…Just a bit tired after all this.” He gave a faintly apologetic smile, trying to wave him off.

 

Magnus slipped closer, clearly still concerned…

 

_Of course it didn’t work,_

 

_No one could get anything past Magnus…_

_Just one of the countless things to love about the man…_

“Alexander, darling, are you quite sure? I do not mean to pry, but you do not seem yourself.”

 

He reached over, resting his hand on Alec’s arm, squeezing gently,

 

_Alec felt his heartbeat skip,_

“My darling detective, anything you need, if there is anything I can do for you, all you have to do is ask.”

 

_Can you be as in love with me as I am with you?_

 

He sighed, shaking his head faintly,

 

“No…I-I’m fine, really…it’s just been a really long day. You did really good today…” Alec said softly

 

“We did, sweetheart,” He corrected, raising his eyebrow faintly,

 

Alec gave a faint smile.

 

“Yes, we did…We always do, we’re a great team.”

 

Magnus smiled softly, nodding.

 

“That is quite true, my darling detective.”

 

Magnus slipped closer, taking his hand, squeezing it.

 

Alec took a deep breath, tugging him closer. He slipped his arm around Magnus, pulling him in, hugging him tight …

 

Magnus gave a faintly surprised sound, before sighing happily, melting into him, wrapping his arms around Alec, pulling him close.

 

Alec’s heart raced, breath catching. One arm stayed tight around his waist, holding him, the other hand he slid up Magnus’s back, grasping his shoulder, pulling him in just a bit more.

 

He turned his head, brushing against Magnus’s hair, taking a few deep breaths.

 

_God, he felt so good, fit so perfectly against Alec. It always felt so right having Magnus in his arms._

_Every time it seemed to get harder to let go._

Just seeing Magnus smile was enough to take his breath away, hearing him laugh, bright and excited made him feel lighter, leaving Alec smiling the rest of the day.

 

All it took was a smile, a look, a comment; just the simplest little thing from Magnus could stop Alec in his tracks.

 

Could turn anything around…make it better…even if it was something he couldn’t fix, something that just _couldn’t_ be fixed, just having Magnus with him made it bearable, made Alec believe he could get through anything…

 

 _And **that** **look**_ …that soft, warm, slightly amazed expression…

 

It got him every time,

 

Sending his heart racing, leaving him breathless,

 

Completely dazed…

 

_God, how had he missed this?_

He took a deep breath, slowly pulling away, taking a few steps back.

 

It was so hard…taking all the willpower he had.

 

But he had to…

_He couldn’t do this to himself…couldn’t have the man he’s in love with…totally, completely, head over heels, no doubt about it, **in love** with, in his arms._

_Not when he didn’t know what it meant…_

_It hurt too much._

He sighed faintly, folding his arms across his chest, leaning back against the wall, glancing down.

 

“Alexander, sweetheart what is wrong?” Magnus asked, soft, and concerned.

 

 “Nothing…I told you, I’m fine.”

 

Magnus tilted his head slightly, gaze somewhat sharp, glancing over him,

 

“Sweetheart, y-”

 

_No…he couldn’t_

He shook his head frantically, giving Magnus a nearly pleading look.

 

“ _No_. Magnus, please don’t do that…don’t push on this…please? I know you can figure anything out, but…on this …j-just…just don’t…okay?”

 

“O-okay…sorry.” Magnus said softly, in a near whisper.

 

Magnus shook his head, beginning to turn.

 

He looked hurt, it took everything Alec had not to reach over, catch him, pull him close, tell him it was okay…tell him everything…

 

But he just couldn’t.

 

_Still, he couldn’t leave it like that…_

“Hey, Magnus?”

 

He paused, turning back, slightly,

 

“I-it’s nothing like you’re thinking. I’m okay…we’re okay… _we are_ …I-I just…I-”

 

He gave a slight smile, though it didn’t really reach his eyes…

 

“It’s alright darling…whatever it is, when you are ready, you can tell me. But only if you want.”

 

Alec breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“Thank you, Magnus.”

 

“Of course, my darling Detective.”

 

With that he turned, reaching the door, quietly slipping out, pulling it closed behind him.

 

Alec sighed, leaning back against the wall, closing his eyes

 

_Magnus really could make everything better…_

_Unfortunately, in this case, that kind of made it worse…_

 

He didn’t know what Magnus would want from a relationship…didn’t know if he’d even _want_ a relationship. He wanted so badly to just try…just go back to earlier today, when it seemed so easy.

 

To simply tell him that he was interested, they could try, go slow or casual, or whatever he wanted…

 

But he knew he couldn’t.

 

He was so far past that…honestly he doubted that’d ever have been enough with Magnus.

 

He wanted Magnus, but he wanted _all_ of him…

 

He wanted serious, and deep, and committed and **_real_**.

 

He couldn’t settle for anything less…

 

He just couldn’t.

 

It wasn’t just attraction, wasn’t a crush, it wasn’t anything simple or easy or casual.

 

He was in love, plain and simple.

 

_He was in love with Magnus…_

_And had absolutely no clue what to do about it._

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Other-Other-Other-Other-Other

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

##  _ Jace _

_What an insane day!_

 

He couldn’t believe Meliorn’s stupid little thing had ballooned into all this.

 

It really didn’t seem like that big of a deal at the time. They were crabby and tense…he wasn’t trying to hurt them or, _like_ , take advantage of them like that angry ‘Dot’ woman had implied, he was just trying to get them to relax and de-stress.

 

_What was so wrong with that?_

 

Okay, so yeah, doing it without them knowing was probably kind of stupid, but really, it’s not like he slipped them some illegal hard core ‘narcotic’ kinda thing,

_it was just herbs and crap!_

 

 

And he had no idea it’d make them lose their memories, Mel never said anything like that, at least he didn’t remember him saying anything like that, He’d said it hardly ever had any side effects…

 

_What were the odds that they’d be some of the few who did?_

 

Besides, he hadn’t even known he was doing it until it was already done…couldn’t really go back, all he could do was make sure they were okay and safe, which he **_did_**.

 

He took their keys, drove them to a safe place, even stopped to get their blankets and all that just so they’d be happy and comfortable.

 

_How was he to know they’d end up leaving?_

 

And seriously, the thing with Magnus and Alec?

 

 He still half wondered if they were messing with him,

 

_I mean come on!_

 

They had been flirting and joking and stuff for nearly a year. Magnus was always touching him and kissing him…any time they were in the same room they were right next to each other.

 

_For god’s sakes Alec had introduced him to their PARENTS!_

 

_And they actually seemed to halfway like Magnus!_

 

How was he supposed to know they weren’t actually ‘together’?

 

Yeah, Alec said it, but he figured he was just trying to keep it private…Though Jace had no idea why…

 

Magnus may not be his type, but he had to admit; guy was hot as hell. That picture on Alec’s phone was _ridiculous_ …

 

_Who knew **that** was under the glaringly bright colors and all that glitter? _

If he had a boyfriend who looked like that you wouldn’t be able to get him to shut up about it.

 

But Alec had always been kinda awkward about stuff like that…he figured this was just one of those things. There really was no way he could have known they weren’t sleeping together,

 

_Seriously!_

 

Magnus practically _fawned_ over Alec, took every chance to touch him, kiss him, tease him…guy flirted like it was an Olympic sport...

 

Magnus was CLEARLY interested, most definitely willing…

 

_How the hell could he have known his brother hadn’t jumped at that the first chance he got (And he had to have a LOT of chances)?_

_Man…all of that, for nearly a **year** …_

_And nothing?_

**_Really!?_ **

 

He shook his head

 

It just made no sense to him.

 

Maybe they were something like whatever Raphael said he was.

 

_And that was another thing;_

 

Raphael wasn’t interested in sex?

 

**_Freaking RAPHAEL?!_ **

****

Dudes flirting game put both his _and_ Magnus’s to shame. He had people drooling over him left, right and center.

 

He had _something;_

 Magnetism, allure _, freaking voodoo spell by his cute, terrifying witch friend,_ Jace didn’t know what, but there was something that allowed him to totally enthrall people with the slightest bit of effort. Twist them around his finger as easily as breathing…

 

Leaving them a pathetic, stammering mess…

 

_And **he** wasn’t interested in sex?_

What the hell?

 

_And he was dating SIMON?!_

Simon had turned Jace down cold…

 

Well…okay... _technically,_ he’d politely told him he was straight…

 

Even though it was now blatantly clear he wasn’t.

 

_What’d he say he was?_

_Pan?_

He wasn’t really sure what that meant, he guessed it was kinda like bi as he now had a boyfriend…

 

Who apparently he just didn’t sleep with…

 

That was just weird…

And Simon was FINE with it… having a boyfriend with no interest in sex (Or what was it he said? Didn’t feel sexual attraction)

 

 

_Like how does that even work?_

What did that mean?

 

_Where they just like, really close friends who cuddled and kissed or whatever?_

 

It just didn’t make sense.

 

And _Kevin’s_ reaction…

 

He’d seemed so excited and happy about it…It’d confused the hell out of Jace. Totally floored him when he said he was actually like that too.

 

_Well…no, not ‘ace’ something else…_

_What was it?_

_He couldn’t remember…the guy was kind of distracting._

He looked **_really_** hot today. He wasn’t in uniform (which was kind of disappointing, cause, _damn_ …) but rather a nice pair of jeans and a deep blue v-neck shirt that was kind of fitted and short sleeved and really showed off a very nice body and made his eyes distractingly bright…

They were gorgeous; a very deep bluish green, which really stood out with his curly black hair and warm rich golden brown skin tone.

 

He was easily one of the hottest people Jace had ever seen.

 

When he’d struck out the first time they met he’d figured he’d never get to see the guy again…

 

Finding out that he not only now worked at his brother’s precinct but was actually something approaching friends with his brother gave him hope…

 

_Though the fact that the guy seemed to kinda have a crush on said brother sort of put a damper on that…_

Almost as much as what Raphael had said…

 

But he was probably wrong…

 

He could win the guy over…it’d just take more time than he was used to having to put in, but he was confident he could…

 

_After all, who could resist him?_

 

You know, besides Simon…

 

And Raphael…

 

And the scary witch girl (She was a lesbian, and dating his sister, so that didn’t count.)

 

And _okay_ , so Magnus has always seemed less than impressed with him…but he was totally hung up on Alec, so that didn’t count either…

 

And the blond dude…crossbow thief’s boyfriend…

 

Alright, so, there were a _few_ people he hadn’t really won over, but that didn’t mean Kevin was going to be one of them…

 

And it’s not like he was really _trying_ with the others.

 

He’d just keep working on it…

 

He’d get there…

 

And he **_did_** feel bad about the whole thing with Magnus and Alec, but it’d be okay…it was bound to happen anyways…it might have been the push they needed.

 

He may have actually helped them.

 

Alec seemed happier…like he was picking up more on Magnus’s flirting, even initiating some himself.

 

_And that video of them dancing…_

 

Okay, he really could do without seeing someone looking at his brother like they wanted to jump him right then and there (And Alec seeming like the feeling was more than mutual)

 

_But still…there was no mistaken that…_

 

_Hell, a few times he thought they were going to sneak off during the case._

_At the club,_

_Especially and at the precinct._

He had a feeling if the rest of them weren’t there they’d of probably had a repeat of whatever happened the night before.

 

He’d been relieved the ride to the Widow’s house was fairly quiet…almost worried they’d get distracted and forget they were not the only ones in the car.

 

And at the widow’s house th-…

 

_Wait…_

 

They weren’t…Alec was quiet…he’d barely said anything

 

And he wasn’t touching Magnus. He seemed to be a few feet away from him…like, the entire time…

 

_Why would he do that? What could change so suddenly?_

_How did he miss that?_

He seemed okay when they went back to the precinct…at least Jace _thought_ he did.

 

Kevin was kind of distracting, excitedly babbling about how awesome it was to get to help Magnus and Alec with this and how he couldn’t wait to tell some of his friends from the old precinct…

 

_Though why they’d be so interested in the goings on of Magnus and Alec he didn’t really know._

 

He’d peeled off soon after they got back. Then he and the other non cops had fairly quick debriefings with the precinct chief. Alec was last, as he was the head detective and had the most authority in the case.

 

_But how was Alec after that?_

 

He didn’t know…

 

Raphael had given him, Izzy and the witch girl a ride back to his place…

 

He’d been a bit preoccupied then…

 

Izzy was still kinda pissed at him and the only other people in the car were a girl he was fairly certain had plans to _(Or already had)_ cursed him and a man who acted as if he was nothing more than an annoying little pest.

 

Usually he’d come back at someone like that, mouth off, challenge them, _something_ …

 

But there was just something about Raphael that told him if he ever did that, ever ended up _truly_ getting on the guys bad side, it may very well be the last thing he ever did.

 

He kinda got the feeling that the only reason the guy hadn’t done anything worse than insult and vaguely torment him as of yet was because Jace was Alec’s brother and Raphael had inexplicably become one of Alec’s best friends –

 

 _he still had no idea how the hell that happened…dude kinda seemed more like the type a detective would be tracking down…not inviting over for dinner and joking around with_.

 

_Hey…wait…_

_Raphael didn’t insult him once on the drive home…_

He was quiet, almost distracted…

 

And he’d **_offered_** them rides back to his place.

 

Practically herding them out…it was subtle…but it was definitely purposeful…

 

And when they were leaving, he’d glanced back at Magnus chatting with a few of the uniforms…

 

He’d had an odd expression, one Jace hadn’t seen on Raphael before…

 

He looked concerned…

 

_What the hell?_

_He didn’t know…but it was about time he found out…_

 

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ______________End Of Chapter Notes___________
> 
> * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -
> 
> _Remember…Last story before our season finale (That’s what I’m thinking of it as…)_
> 
> _We have to have a bit of tension going in…_
> 
> _ Bet you weren’t expecting Jace’s perspective… _
> 
> _Figured we’d get a bit of a view of him..._
> 
> _I love his rationalizing…his inability to remember Clary and a few of the other’s names… Also his total bafflement over Asexuality (Which is not that uncommon of a reaction)_
> 
> **_I have the last chapter written…gonna do another pass or two over it, then I’ll have it up later tonight._ **
> 
> _So…_
> 
> _What do you think?_
> 
>  


	12. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI...
> 
> I kind of ran out of space for it but I thought it was kinda obvious anyways...
> 
> Anyway
> 
> The reason Raphael was in Simons pjs was cause he missed his boyfriend and they reminded him of him, also why he insisted on wearing them the entire night . 
> 
> And he was in the tub cause he missed Simon and the bed smelled like him and he kept reaching for him (aww)

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

##  _ Flashback _

 

_Climbing out of the shower things suddenly seemed glaringly clear._

_What the hell was he doing?_

_They’ had been slipped something. **Magnus** was slipped something, he’d been drinking. In fact Magnus had been so out of it he ended up spilling an entire drink all over Alec when he’d pulled him into yet another kiss and kind of forgot he still had his glass in his other hand, hence the shower. He was happy and giggly and in bed waiting for Alec to join him…_

_Now he had to figure out a way to get out of it._

_Find a way to get out of going to bed with the **literal** man of his dreams…_

_How the hell was this his life?_

_He sighed, shaking his head, tugging on the red, silky pants that Magnus had given him._

_He’d actually grabbed some of his own grey flannel sleep pants from home, but when Magnus had offered, insisting they should match, the idea delighted Magnus so much that he simply couldn’t say no…_

_Plus, the idea of wearing something of Magnus’s was kind of thrilling and distracting…_

_Almost as distracting as the fact that he now smelled like Magnus…_

_Because that wasn’t going to keep him awake all night._

_He shook his head, taking another deep breath before moving into the other room._

_Maybe Magnus fell asleep? If so he could just slip past, curl up on the couch and try to forget all this…that’d be the sa-_

_“Hello, Detective.”_

_Damn…so much for that…_

_Okay, so he’d just have to calmly explain that they coul…_

**_Damn…_ **

****

_Magnus was stretched out on the bed, leaning back on his elbows, looking like every fantasy Alec ever had come true._

_His hair was mussed, slightly wild from the club; from Alec’s hands running through it…_

_The lights were dim, casting a warm golden glow over his bare skin… **a lot** of bare skin. He had a matching pair of pants like Alec’s, though they were a deep violet. They also seemed quite a bit lower, setting just below his hip bone, leaving Alec with a perfect view of his stomach, and abs, and chest…and arms…_

_And again… **Damn** …_

_Magnus sets up, locking eyes with him before slowly, blatantly, trailing his gaze over Alec._

_“Mmmm…” He hummed appreciatively, biting his lower lip slightly._

_Alec’s heart hammered so fast it made him lightheaded, breath catching, he could feel himself flush._

_God, he never thought he’d see Magnus look at him like that…see that kind of desire in his eyes._

_He walked over to the bed in a near daze, perching on the very edge._

_The second he was close enough Magnus pounced, grabbing him, quickly pulling him down into a hot, hungry, demanding kiss._

_He responded eagerly groaning, running his hands up Magnus’s back, grasping, pulling him in close, before letting his hands slide back down, over all that soft, smooth, skin._

_Magnus gave a pretty little whimper like sound, soft and desperate, panting slightly, pulling him close, holding tight, arching up against him._

_Any willpower Alec had went out the window at that._

_He moaned, pressing Magnus firmly back onto the bed, kissing him deeply, nipping at his lower lip before going in again for another passionate, hungry kiss, all the while letting his hands roam, teasingly._

_They finally had to part for breath, but he just couldn’t make himself stop altogether. He kissed along Magnus’s jaw, over to his ear, nipping sharply, like he had at the club, remembering how delightfully responsive Magnus had been when he’d kissed his neck._

_He started again, kissing, nipping and sucking, slowly making his way down Magnus’s neck, working his way down his chest._

_Magnus gasped softly, arching against him eagerly, running his hands up his back, tangling in his hair, pulling him in closer._

_“Oh… A-Alexander…yes…so good.”_

_Alec groaned, hearing that, Magnus moaning his name…_

_God…he never thought he’d get this…_

_Never thought he’d have Magnus like this;_

_Eager, wild, almost desperate_

_Uninhibited…_

_Like he had been all night_

_…_

_.._

_._

_Because he wasn’t in his right mind._

_Alec froze, pulling back gasping, trying to get himself under control._

_Magnus groaned, reaching over, tugging him back in impatiently, into a hard, biting kiss,_

_Alec pulled back again,_

_“M-Magnus…we need to stop.”_

_Magnus shook his head,_

_“No, we don’t” he countered, reaching up burying his hand in Alec’s hair, tugging him forward into yet another deep, passionate, absolutely mind-blowing kiss._

_It seemed a pretty valid argument._

_“Mmmm…no, w-we really do.” He murmured,_

_It probably lost some of the conviction as he couldn’t stop himself from punctuating each word with another kiss…_

_But they needed to stop…_

**_They did,_ ** _damnit…_

_And they were going to…_

_He was going to…_

_Right now…_

_Okay now…_

_Well ma-_

_No…_

_He took a deep breath, and, using all the willpower he could possibly muster, pulled away from Magnus, setting up and moving to the other side of the bed._

_Magnus made a confused, disappointed sound, seemingly thrown by the sudden change, glancing around baffled, looking over at him…_

_He looked bewildered…_

_And almost hurt…_

_He closed his eyes, trying to steady himself and keep from starting back up. If they did he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop again._

_“A-Alexander?” Magnus asked softly, suddenly sounding shy,_

_“W-wha-did I do something wrong? Was I too-”_

_Alec’s head snapped up, eyes wide, he shook his head quickly_

_“ **No!** no, no, no…” he said emphatically_

_He couldn’t have Magnus thinking something like that…_

_He tilted his head_

_“Then why did you stop?”_

_“I-I can’t take advantage of you like this…”_

_Magnus chuckled_

_“Sweetheart…you’re not ‘taking advantage’.” He leaned in, nuzzling against his cheek_

_“I think it’s pretty clear I’m giving you the advantage.” he nipped at his earlobe_

_“I’ll give you any advantage you want.” he whispered,_

_Alec whimpered,_

_“Damn…” he muttered, shaking his head, leaning away from Magnus,_

**_Damn morality…_ **

****

_He shook his head…_

_“Magnus, y-you’ve been drinking, you were slipped something and we really don’t know what…you don’t know what you’re doing-”_

_Magnus laughed slightly, trying to move closer,_

_“Yes I do…”_

_“But you’re not thinking clearly.”_

_“Yes I am.”_

_“No you’re not…you don’t know what you’re doing, what-”_

_He chuckled, smirking invitingly, quirking his eyebrow in that absurdly distracting way,_

_“ **Alexander;** I have you in my bed, we were kissing…you were touching me, I was touching you. I know exactly what I am doing, where this is going. I know exactly what I want…_

_You.”_

_He closed his eyes take a deep breath, trying to regain control._

_“Yes…tonight…right now…but tomorrow who knows how you’ll feel?”_

_“ **I** know…I will want you just as much tomorrow as I do right now…as I have for as long as I’ve known you.”_

_Alec felt his heart race…_

_“Then **tomorrow** …Wait till tomorrow, when we are both clear headed and sober.”_

_He pouted, nuzzling closer,_

_“Oh…but that’s so very far away.”_

_“Magnus…please?”_

_He huffed slightly, but nodded_

_“Fiiine…but you’ll still stay with me tonight, won’t you?”_

_He shook his head slightly,_

_“Magnus I don’t kn-”_

_“Please? I won’t try anything…I just really want you here with me…_

_Please?” he asked hopefully_

_Alec sighed, nodding_

_Magnus absolutely beamed, cuddling close,_

 

Alec rolled over, groaning at the memory, shaking his head.

 

_God, he absolutely needed to talk to Magnus…he had to._

 

He couldn’t keep going like this…

 

 Couldn’t just not know…

 

Couldn’t just keep hoping…

 

Wondering…

 

He had to find out…

 

And soon…

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Other-Other-Other-Other-Other

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

##  _ Izzy _

 

“So then the entire thing exploded and Magnus totally freaked and we took off running, I think he was screaming louder than I was…

 

He was the best babysitter ever.”

 

By this point she was laughing so hard Izzy could barely catch her breath.

 

The evening was going amazingly. They’d gone to this really great little café that Izzy hadn’t even knew existed. It was just a little hole in the wall kinda place, but Clary had insisted it had the best coffee and desserts in the world.

 

After trying it, Izzy was inclined to agree. They’d found they had a few common interests (Dancing, a lot of the same taste in music, some favorite shows), a few that _could_ become common interests (hiking and rock climbing sounded interesting, and Clary said she would really like to come to Izzy’s kickboxing class) and some that… _well_ , they could work around (Like Izzy’s love of jogging and Clary’s insistence that if you ever see her actually running, then something is probably VERY wrong and you should probably be running too).

 

Clary was just amazing; she was so sweet, warm and funny, she had an amazing heart and was so unbelievably passionate about everything.

 

Not only that, but she was fiercely loyal and extremely protective of those she cared about.

 

She’d learned that when she’d asked about her scaring Jace. He was still freaked out, he’d texted her, asking her to put in a good word for him so she wouldn’t curse him- or maybe lift any she already put on him (He swore he saw extra hair on the back of the couch he was sitting on). She couldn’t resist telling Clary, she’d just giggled, rolling her eyes.

 

“You couldn’t actually do that.”

 

She shrugged,

 

Izzy raised her eyebrow, already used to her kinda odd sense of humor (it was ridiculously endearing),

 

“Oh come on, you couldn’t make him bald with a spell.”

 

She shook her head, grinning,

 

“No…not with a _spell,_ ”

 

Izzy tilted her head curiously,

 

“I don’t have a spell …however; I _DO_ have a bottle of Nair and have known how to pick a lock since I was 10.”

 

She laughed so hard she almost spit out her coffee, just barely managing to swallow it before nearly dissolving in giggles.

 

_Oh, yeah…she liked this girl._

_Thank goodness for idiot criminals with crappy art skills…_

 

Izzy couldn’t remember when she’d had such a great time with someone…

 

It’d seemed like she had known Clary forever, yet she was certain she had never met anyone like the pretty Wiccan.

 

Getting ready for tonight, she’d been kind of nervous…on the surface they were so different. Izzy was in law enforcement and medicine, she was an ME. Most of her life was in facts, statistics, and solid, proven theory. She was all about practical, rational, analytical thought.

 

If you couldn’t prove it, it didn’t count.

 

Clary was her polar opposite. She was a Wiccan, an artist. She ran an occult shop and marched to her own drum. If she read a file on the girl or just heard of her in passing she’d probably just chuckle at the absurdity of some people and move on.

 

She’d actually mentioned that, kind of by accident, before hastily apologizing.

 

Clary laughed so heard she’d nearly fell out of her chair.

****

#  _ Clary _

##  _ Flashback: _

_“Ugh…Really Mags? You’re bringing a Medical Examiner to my shop? I don’t want some stuffy, creepy weirdo wandering around my shop being all judgey and condescending.”_

_Magnus chuckled_

_Raphael smirked slightly_

_Magnus glared at him_

_“I blame you for this.” he admonished, pointing at him melodramatically,_

_Raphael just snorted, giving a faint shrug,_

_Magnus turned back to Clary,_

_“Biscuit, she’s not…she is a good friend, and Alexander’s sister, she’d absolutely lovely.”_

_“Pfft…right, sure she is,”_

_“She is! Clarissa, I am surprised at you…you are one of the least closed minded people I have ever met…why would you think that?”_

_She rolled her eyes,_

_“Oh, come on Mags! She’s a medical examiner, that’s like a cop **and** a doctor rolled into one. Not exactly accepting of the whole ‘Wicca, spiritual, metaphysical’ type thing. And really, she works with dead people…like, on purpose! Who chooses that?”_

_He laughed brightly, shaking his head,_

_“I’ll admit, it is somewhat unorthodox, but, really; I’m a ‘psychic’ detective and you are the proprietor of an occult shop…I don’t think we have much room to judge in the unusual careers departments.”_

_“Yeah, well…when the career involves dead people…little bit of judgment.” She muttered_

_“She has a point.” Raphael interjected smirking,_

_He rolled his eyes at the both of them,_

_“Darling, they will be here soon, please behave yourself. You don’t have to be friends, but she IS Alexander’s sister, and I am quite fond of her…I would really appreciate it if you would at least try to get along.”_

_She huffed slightly, blowing a few strands of fly away hair out of her face,_

_“Fine, for you, I’ll try…_

_But she takes any shots at my shop, all bets are off.” she warned_

_He grinned, nodding,_

_“Of course, biscuit.”_

_She turned from them, busying herself reshelving some of the herbs she’d just refilled and watering the ones in the hanging pots, straightening a few of the crystals and statues along the way._

_She may have to put up with this ‘M.E.’ lady, but she sure as hell wasn’t gonna seem like she was just standing around waiting for her._

_The bell over the door chimed signaling someone’s arrival._

_“Thank you so much for meeting us here, since it’s during business hours I really didn’t want to drag Clary down to the station.”_

_“It’s no problem, though I really don’t know what we’re going to find at a-”_

_Clary whirled around,_

_“At a wh…” she trailed off, freezing,_

**_Whoa…_ **

_Who knew Medical Examiners looked like **that?**_

_She looked like she’d stepped out of a fashion magazine._

_The woman standing next to Alec was the most gorgeous person she had ever seen._

_Tall and tan, with deep, warm brown eyes, breathtaking features, and a devastating smile, enhanced with a daringly bold red lipstick._

_Her long, dark hair was pulled into a perfectly executed updo._

_She was wearing a very well tailored short sleeved black top with an especially slim fitting, royal blue skirt, accented with sheer black polka dot patterned nylons and a pair of strappy heels in the same shade as the skirt that looked sharp enough to double as weapons._

_Clary suddenly felt really underdressed in her old faded jeans with the butterfly designs she’d painted on them when she was bored and a pink tank top with a smiley face._

_God…she was dressed like a twelve year old!_

_Actually she thinks she had this same outfit when she was twelve!_

_She quickly pushed her hair back, trying to subtlety get it in some semblance of order._

_“Uhh…h-hey…” she said awkwardly, blushing, giving a slight wave._

_The woman tilted her head giving a slow, almost unnervingly sexy smirk,_

_“Well, **hello.** ”_

_Clary gulped, eyes wide, blushing as bright as her hair._

_Izzy stepped forward, confidently,_

_Reaching over, taking Clary’s hand, squeezing lightly, and not letting go,_

_“I’m Isabelle…and you are?”_

_“Single.”_

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Simon-Simon-Simon-Simon-Simon

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

“So…you really think they’ll be alright?”

 

Raphael sighed, shrugging,

 

“I don’t know… I think they will work through whatever this is…but I really don’t know.

 

Magnus had no idea what went wrong. Alec just seemed to shift so suddenly…I’d almost think he had a flashback that upset him, but, even blackout drunk or on what the hell ever we were slipped, I couldn’t imagine Mags doing something that would upset him that much…

 

I really can’t.”

 

He leaned back further, settling closer to his boyfriend. They were stretched out on Simon’s couch, His head resting on Raphael’s shoulder; some random fantasy show playing…

 

Most of the day Alec seemed good. It really felt like something had shifted, like they were finally getting there. Then, just as quickly, it’d shifted again…only worse.

 

Alec seemed closed off, withdrawn. It didn’t feel like he was angry…it almost felt like he’d given up. Like he’d lost whatever hope he had about him and Magnus…

 

_But what could possibly cause that?_

 

He sighed, shaking his head,

 

Raphael’s arm around him tightened slightly,

 

He shifted, glancing up at Raphael.

 

“Do you think we should’ve stayed at the apartment?”

 

He shook his head,

 

“No…I think Magnus needs some time with this. I do think they’ll work through this…it’ll just take some more time.”

 

Simon groaned faintly, rolling not only his eyes, but his whole head.

 

“God, at this rate this is gonna take forever!  I swear, if it takes much longer, I’m rethinking Kasey’s plan of locking them in a closet till they figure it out.”

 

Raphael chuckled faintly, nodding.

 

“Just say the word.”

 

Simon smiled, leaning over kissing him gently. Raphael slipped his arm around him, humming softly, shifting closer.

 

Simon reached up, brushing Raphael’s hair back, deepening the kiss. Raphael responded happily, pulling him in even more.

 

There was a knock at the door.

 

Simon groaned, breaking the kiss, glaring at the door.

 

Raphael shrugged,

 

“We could just ignore it…” he suggested, raising his eyebrow, tugging him back in,

 

“Hmm…” Simon murmured, leaning in, kissing him again. Raphael smiled, arm around him tightening, sliding a bit lower.

 

There was another knock.

 

Simon groaned louder,

 

“Oh come on!” he grumbled

 

Raphael shrugged again, tugging him closer, kissing his neck,

 

“Ignore it…”

 

Simon huffed, pulling back, shaking his head faintly.

 

“No…I have to see, it might be important, I’ll wonder all night.”

 

“ _Fiine_ …if it’s really going to bother you that much…” Raphael sighed, beginning to get up.

 

Simon shook his head,

 

“It’s okay, you’re comfortable, I’ll get it.”

 

He got up, moving towards the door. Raphael flopped back on the couch, almost pouting.

 

 “You are way too damn nice.” He grumbled,

 

Simon chuckled faintly, rolling his eyes,

 

“ _I’m sorry!_ It could be important!”

 

“Es una buena cosa eres tan lindo.”

 

 “Hey! I know that one…and thank you.” Simon grinned, winking giving a playful wink.

 

“You haven’t opened the door…we can still ignore it?” He offers hopefully.

 

“ _It could be important_ ” Simon insisted, chuckling, reaching the door, pulling it open, and staring in confusion.

 

“Jace?”

 

“It’s not…” Raphael muttered, picking up a book off the coffee table, paging through it.

 

Simon rolled his eyes before glancing back at Jace, leaning against the door frame.

 

“Hey, Jace?”

 

“Umm…hey…”

 

 He gave a slight smirk,

 

Simon just waited, raising his eyebrow.

 

The smirk faltered.

 

“Did you need something?” Simon finally asked,

 

“Umm…I-I kind of …” he trailed off

 

Simon sighed, shaking his head, moving over,

 

“Do you want to come in?” he offered

 

“Eres demasiado bonita” Raphael grumbled, setting up,

 

“I know, I know.” Simon mumbled, shrugging

 

Jace glanced between them in confusion. Simon settles on the couch, next to Raphael, gesturing for him to take the chair.

 

“What did you need, Jace?”

 

“I just…”

 

“The truth; it’s been a long day. Simon just got back home and we have been running all day trying to recover yesterday. It’s been a lot…

 

What is it…and how can we get you to leave?” Raphael interrupted, resting the book on his lap, setting forward, clasping his hands.

 

“ _Raph_ ” Simon said, raising his eyebrow,

 

He shrugged,

 

“ _Amore_ , it’s been a long day, and it’s _Jace_ ; who showed up unannounced, and interrupted our evening. There were no threats, overt or otherwise, and I’ve yet to insult him, that’s as nice as I’m going to get.”

 

_“He’s been here all of five minutes!”_

 

“And I’ve passed on close to a dozen comments…” he countered, raising his eyebrow.

 

Simon shook his head, just barely managed to keep in a slight chuckle, before turning back to Jace.

 

“Ignore him…so, what is it you need?”

 

 Simon startled faintly,

 

“ _Wait_ …Alec’s okay, right?”

 

Raphael set up a bit straighter,

 

“Wha-uh…yeah…h-he’s fine…at least as far as I know.”

 

Simon breathed a sigh of relief, nodding,

 

“Okay, so, what is it?”

 

He rubbed at his neck slightly,

  
“Umm…w-well, I j-”

 

He sighed,

 

“How badly did I screw things up?”

 

Raphael snorted, raising his eyebrow, giving a very sharp, somewhat unsettling, smile, calmly setting the book aside.

 

Jace gulped, scooting back.

 

“You mean, how badly did you screw things up when you allowed a friend to drug four people, including me and my two best friends, causing us to forget an entire day?”

 

“O-okay…bu-”

 

Raphael shifted, setting forward, locking eyes with him, and in a very low, very quiet, deadly serious tone, began,

 

“Jace, think _very_ carefully before you speak. You are responsible for the drugging of me and two of the most important people in my life. If Simon had been here as well you really would not want to be anywhere near me.

 

If you are simply going to whine about how we acted towards you, how it was not your fault, you are not responsible, how it was ‘all fine’, or any of that other deflecting, superficial, childish crap, you _really_ need to just quietly stand up and leave, right now.

 

I will not tell you again.”

 

Jaces eyes were wide; he scooted over a bit further, gulping a few times.

 

Simon just barely managed to keep from making a rather embarrassing sound…

 

_Yeah… that was hot as hell…_

_Once again he couldn’t believe that was **his** boyfriend,_

_He was SO lucky,_

“U-u-umm…t-that’s…uh…I…I wasn’t…” he stopped, shaking his head, taking a few deep breaths, before trying again.

 

“I wasn’t going to. I really think I screwed up.”

 

Raphael inclined his head,

 

“On that, we are in agreement.”

 

Simon smirked, glancing over his boyfriend, before shaking his head.

 

_Okay…focus on the Jace idiocy first…then on your ridiculously hot boyfriend…_

He turned back to Jace,

 “So…not to be rude, but why are you here?”

 

“W-well… with Alec and Magnus…I screwed it up majorly, and I really don’t know how to fix that.”

 

Simon sighed, shaking his head,

 

“We don’t know either. Alec seemed good today, but something changed…”

 

Raphael nodded,

 

“It seemed to happen after we left the precinct. I do not know everything that happened. Most of the memories are back, but I really do not know what happened after I went to bed.

 

Mags has not told me. When Alec shut down, he sort of did as well, but it wasn’t because of something he remembered, rather because of Alec’s reaction.

 

I believe Magnus is worried he pushed Alec into something and Alec is now regretting it.

 

I suppose it’s possible. Mags is quite… _aggressive_ , in that field, not that I would know from personal experience, but as I have known him for nearly two decades and we shared a room for over five years, I know more than I’d really care to.

 

However, regardless of what state he was in I couldn’t believe he’d do anything like he is worrying.”

 

Jace snorted slightly,

 

“Yeah, I don’t think that’d be an issue. I’ve seen them together, and I saw Alec practically drooling over that photo…not to mention their dancing. I really don’t see Alec being anything but totally onboard with pretty much anything Magnus wanted.”

 

Simon shrugged,

 

“I don’t really think so either. They’re crazy about each other; everyone who sees them together knows it.

 

I’m wondering if maybe Alec thinks HE did something wrong and is worried he went too far. He might be trying to give Magnus some space, worried that **_he’d_** be uncomfortable.”

 

“That sounds like him…over analyzing and second guessing.”

 

Raphael nodded consideringly,

 

“That is true. We should give them time…the memories are still fresh. We really do not know what all happened. Alec seemed good with everything up to when we were leaving the precinct.

 

Until then he was acting differently, but _good_ different. He was sticking close to Magnus, flirting…From what I remember they were almost sickeningly sweet last night, cuddling and kissing and the like.

 

At one point Izzy and I ended up throwing candy and popcorn at them to get them to separate-”

 

Simon gasped,

 

“Raph! _Come on!_ We’ve all been working on them for almost a year and the _second_ they get close you throw stuff at them!?”

 

He shrugged sheepishly,

 

“I know…sorry amore, but they were getting a bit _too_ close and, while I do want them together, I do not want to actually _see_ _them **‘together’**_ …” he shuttered exaggeratedly,

 

“Also, you were gone and I was kind of sulking…

 

I wasn’t really in the mood to see a happy, cuddly couple.”

 

Simon chuckled,

 

“I have a feeling our two annoyingly clueless, stubbornly single friends have probably thought the same thing about us…they never bombarded **_us_** with snack food.”

 

He huffed slightly, but nodded…

 

“Yeah…”

 

Simon shook his head affectionately at his boyfriend.

 

“Hey, what do you mean you’ve _all_ been working on them?” Jace asked, confused.

 

Simon shrugged,

 

“Well...I thought there was something there from the beginning, Raphael agreed. Izzy and I got to talking a few times and she agreed to help.

 

Then during the case at the school Max was asking about them, he and his friends have been helping here and there.

 

Though…Kasey’s plans kind of lack subtlety…entertaining though.”

 

Raphael chuckles, nodding,

 

“I don’t know, locking them in a closet doesn’t seem **_that_** farfetched…except for the fact that Mags can pick a lock in about five seconds flat…”

 

“Okay, but technically that was **_Max’s_** plan. It was his back up for getting Kasey together with Isaac. Pretty sure Kasey’s involved a staged haunting and pyrotechnics.”

 

Raphael chuckled raising an eyebrow,

 

“Could work.”

 

 _“No it couldn’t!_ It-”

 

“So, wait…you’ve been working with Izzy and Max and some of his friends to try to get them together, and no one thought to ask me?” Jace interrupted

 

They shrugged,

 

“Well, you were already convinced they were together. And besides, before that all you ever did was annoy Alec about it. Whenever you’d pester him he’d totally shut down…

 

Involving you seemed counterproductive.” Raphael shrugged dismissively,

 

“You were busy and it never came up.” Simon offered.

 

_He **tried** to make it seem convincing_

_Thankfully he was getting better at the whole lying thing._

“But w-”

 

“Look, Jace…I don’t think there’s anything you or anyone else can do. Not at this point. They need to figure this out on their own.

 

Give them time…and for god’s sake, _do NOT_ annoy Alec about it…it will only make it worse.” Raphael cut him off

 

“But I scr-”

 

“ _Yes_ , you did…but you cannot just change it. Whatever happened, happened. They need to work it out.”

 

“Bu-”

 

“ ** _No_**. I know it was your fault, but there’s nothing you can do. There is no easy fix to this. Sometimes that’s just how it is. You need to suck it up, deal, and **_not_** make it any worse. That is all you can do.”

 

Jace sighed, shaking his head,

 

“Yeah…you’re probably right, I really don’t want to do that.”

 

Simon leaned forward slightly,

 

“Jace, it will be okay, they’ll work it out. Alec and Magnus are crazy about each other. They’re perfect together…for heaven’s sake, I’m pretty sure they have an actual _fan club_ , from what Kevin says, a somewhat substantial one. They will be fine.” He assured.

 

Jace’s gave a slight chuckle,

 

“You really think so?”

 

He nodded,

 

“I have from the day they met…I was there…it was like fireworks...”

 

Raphael gave a slight chuckle, smirking, quirking his eyebrow,

 

“Was that before or after Alec mistook Mags for a hooker?”

 

 ** _“What!?”_** Jace exclaimed, laughing, half from humor, half from shock.

 

Simon quirked his eyebrow,

 

“How have you not heard about this? Magnus teases Alec about it all the time.”

 

He shrugs,

 

“I don’t know…I’d think I would remember that.” he shook his head, clearly wondering what else he missed.

 

“Anyways…they will be fine. We’ll just give them time. If it seems necessary, we’ll provide a bit of a push, but only if we _absolutely_ need to. Just let them figure it out, they will get there.” Simon assured.

 

Jace nodded,

 

“Okay. Time, and don’t interfere. I can do that…”

 

He gave a faint sigh of relief, relaxing a bit…beginning to get up, before hesitating.

 

He shifted slightly, glancing around.

 

“So…Was there something else?” Simon finally asked

 

Raphael sent a faint glare his way,

 

He shrugged, widening his eyes,

 

 _‘Sorry’_ he mouthed guiltily, with a faint blush,

 

_He couldn’t help it…_

Raphael rolled his eyes, but couldn’t stop a faint smile,

 

“Con suerte que te amo tanto.”

 

He smiled warmly,

 

“Lo sé... Creo que todos los días.”

 

Raphael stared in shock, a warm smile blooming over his face,

 

_He knew his pronunciation was probably crap, but it was totally worth it for that look._

 

He was nowhere near fluent, but he knew enough to understand most of the phrases Raphael said…and he’d tried to memorize responses to them…

 

He hadn’t had a chance to use them yet…

 

_It was SO worth it._

 

“Ahem…”

 

He fought down a groan,

 

_Oh, right…_

“So, what else was it you needed?” he asked, a little less patiently,

 

“Umm…well…about Kevin-”

 

Raphael groaned, dropping his head in his hands,

 

“Oh mi Dios, que nunca vamos a deshacerse de este idiota.”

 

“Hey! I knew that last word!” Jace snapped, glaring

 

“I am sure you did.” Raphael muttered

 

“Now th-”

 

“ ** _Jace_** , what about Kevin…not to be rude, but it’s been a long day, I got off a plane and dove straight into a case/memory scavenger hunt and I really just want to have some time alone with my boyfriend.

 

What do you want to know, and quickly?”

 

He balked somewhat at that, glancing between them, raising his eyebrow,

 

“I thought you sai-”

 

“What I _said_ , is it’s none of your business. It still is not.” Simon cut him off sharply, standing up, clearly indicating for Jace to follow suit.

 

“Umm…bu-”

 

“ _Idiota_ , he told you twice now. I will not.” Raphael said calmly, standing next to Simon, folding his arms, staring him down.

 

Jace’s eyes widened, he quickly stood,

 

“Umm…I just…what he said he was…you acted like it was like what you said you were…”

 

He tilted he head,

 

“Yes. Demisexual is on the Ace spectrum…it is a bit different, but similar. Why?”

 

“Well…you said it meant I wouldn’t have a chance with him-”

 

“Yes…” he said annoyed, raising his eyebrow

 

“I did not remember _yesterday_ …my memories of today are quite clear…can we move this along, perhaps skip the recap?”

 

Jace nodded slightly,

 

“Umm…just…I don’t…why?”

 

Raphael gave a faint laugh, raising his eyebrow,

 

“Because you’re…you.”

 

His huffed faintly,

 

Simon shook his head,

 

“Jace…what he means is you just wouldn’t be compatible.”

 

“W-”

 

Simon shrugged,

 

“Why do you like him? Why are you interested?”

 

Jace raised his eyebrow,

 

“Bec-”

 

“Something besides him being hot.”

 

He stopped,

 

Raphael scoffed,

 

Simon rolled his eyes, still drifting towards the door,

 

“Exactly. The only reason you are interested in him is because you like how he looks. You want him.”

 

Jace shrugged,

 

“Yeah…so, what’s wrong with that?”

 

Simon shook his head,

 

“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it…but it kind of seems like that, like sex, is the be all, end all so far as dating, relationships, whatever are concerned with you…and that is _fine_ …but that is the complete antithesis of what someone like Kevin or Raphael wants.

 

For them, sex is pretty much the last thought in a relationship, for you it’s the first.

 

Kevin isn’t going to want to just hook up…he doesn’t do that. The idea of just ‘hooking up’ with a random person would be totally unappealing to him, almost unimaginable.

 

 For him sex doesn’t even become an acceptable option until you are well into an **_actual_** relationship, until he already cares, and even then, there is no guarantee.

 

He is not just going to want to fall into bed after a few dates. He would have to like you first, be friends first, and go from there…and honestly, just on that alone you have a LONG way to go with the guy.

 

I am sorry, but I really don’t see it working.

 

You couldn’t fathom Magnus and Alec waiting a year…in something like this it could be even longer.

 

Magnus and Alec are basically just idiots who keep over thinking things. The second they figure out whatever they need to figure out, I don’t think we’re gonna want to be at the apartment for a good week or so…

 

That’s a big part of why I still have this place, even though I spend most of my time there.

 

That is gonna happen eventually, it’s pretty much a given.

 

But with someone like Kevin, it’s different.

 

There are no guarantees they will ever want that with you, and if you really can’t accept that, can’t deal with that…It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, it just means you have different priorities.

 

And that’s totally okay,

 

 ** _However_** , pushing someone for something they don’t want, don’t feel comfortable with, feeling you are _entitled_ to something simply because of a few dates or a social convention or whatever…

 

That is not.

 

Honestly, I just don’t see you being able to do that.

 

_I could be wrong…_

 

But, you really need to think about it.”

 

He nodded faintly, sighing,

 

“Okay, you have a point.

 

Thanks.” he opened the door slowly

 

Simon stopped him, catching his arm, squeezing slightly.

 

Jace looked up,

 

He gave him a small, encouraging smile.

 

“I didn’t say it was _impossible_ …I’m not saying it could _never_ happen, just that it’s highly unlikely.

 

At the beginning of this year I was a hopelessly single, clumsy beat cop, with few friends who spent most of his time at a desk, and pretty much the office joke.

 

If you were to tell me within the year I would not only have a gorgeous, amazing, boyfriend, but be a fairly well respected detective in my own right, working with my two best friends, the head detective I have idolized since I started with the SBPD and an actual psychic detective,

 

I probably would have hauled you in for public intoxication.

 

Just because something _seems_ really unlikely, it doesn’t mean it can’t happen…”

 

Jace smiled, nodded faintly,

 

“Thanks, Simon.” He glanced over at Raphael

 

“You are really lucky.”

 

He smiles, slipping his arm around Simon, nodding faintly,

 

“I know.”

 

Jace turned, making his way down the steps.

 

Simon closed the door, locking it. The second he did Raphael grabbed him, pressing him against the door, kissing him passionately.

 

“I thought we’d never get rid of him” he grumbled, kissing him again

 

“I know…” Simon sighed, tugging him closer, turning, walking backwards towards the bedroom.

 

“He’d of been gone sooner, but you just _had_ to ask ‘what else’?” Raphael mumbled in-between kisses

 

“I know.”

 

“And t-”

 

“ _Raph_ , please stop talking about Jace on our way to the bedroom.” he groaned, before pulling him into a deep passionate kiss that left him breathless.

 

Raphael nodded, slightly dazed,

 

“Kay.”

 

“Mmm…” Simong hummed appreciatively, tugging him in again

 

“Just…”

 

Simon groaned loudly rolling his eyes

 

 _“Whaat?”_ he asked, in almost a whine…

 

“If anyone else knocks, _ignore_ it.”

 

Simon chuckled, nodding franticly, tugging him into yet another deep kiss slipping into the bedroom, pushing the door to behind them.

* - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -

**Es una buena cosa eres tan lindo** \- It’s a good thing you’re so cute

 

 **Eres demasiado bonita** \- You are **_way_** too nice

 

 **Con suerte que te amo tanto** – You’re lucky I love you so much

 

 **Lo sé... Creo que todos los días** – I know… I think that every day

 

 **Oh mi Dios, que nunca vamos a deshacerse de este idiota** – Oh my god, we’re never going to get rid of this idiot

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

Magnus sighs, rolling over, trying to get comfortable, but it just didn’t seem to be of any use. He couldn’t stop thinking about Alexander earlier…

 

_What happened?_

Things had seemed so great, he was fun and playful…he even seemed kind of flirty…and then he just stopped. He seemed to just totally withdraw.

 

Was it something he said, something he did? A memory he had that Magnus hadn't gotten yet?

 

He remembered them going to bed…kissing…touching…Remembered how good it’d felt. Then Alexander pulling away, stopping him…

 

Had he been too aggressive? Pushed too far?

 

Alexander had stopped him a few times, but he’d said it was because he was worried what Magnus would think...that he was taking advantage…that he would regret it, because he wasn’t in his right mind…

 

_But neither was **Alec** …_

 

He’d been dosed too…he’d had a few at the club…he was in the same state Magnus had been…

 

_Was that it?_

_Did he push too much and freak him out?_

Maybe…but, surely he wouldn’t hold that against Magnus?

 

Not for long? Right?

 

It might be a bit awkward, but…they’d get past this…

 

It’d be okay…

 

Right?

 

He hadn’t messed everything up?

 

Magnus shook his head, rolling over again, trying to get comfortable…

 

_God he really hoped so…_

 

He settled on his side, pulling one of his pillows closer, wrapping his arms around it, hoping he’d dream of Alexander, but knowing without doubt that the dream could never compete with reality.

 

He sighed once more, drifting off…

 

##  _ Flashback/Dream: _

 

_He and Alexander are in his bed, the lights out, it’s cool and quiet and wonderfully peaceful. Alexander is stretched out in his bed, Magnus cuddled close to his side, head resting on his chest, letting his heartbeat soothe him to sleep._

 

_He sighed, softly, cuddling closer. Alexander’s hand is on his back, rubbing in slow soothing circles, relaxing him, pushing him closer to sleep._

 

_Just before he drifts off he feels Alec shift slightly, pull him just a bit closer, nuzzle against his hair, pressing a soft kiss._

 

_“I love you” he murmurs, barely a breath of a sound, just a whisper on the edge of a dream…His breath evens out in sleep..._

 

_“Hmmm…I love you too, My darling detective…”_

 

##  *-*-*-*-*-*-* _The End_

##  _For Now_ *-*-*-*-*-*-*

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m just gonna go thru this part by part:
> 
> ****I like how this part turned out…I really don’t have too much experience writing ‘intimate’ kinda scenes, and they tend to seem clunky and awkward to me, basically I’m flying blind with this stuff…so I’ll do my best, but not making any promises…
> 
>  
> 
> *** I LOVE Izzy and Clary, they were so fun, I am so going to have more with them…And I love Clary being kinda mischievous, and terrifying Jace
> 
> ** Raphael is totally my favorite ever…I love how Simon has kind of grown and changed over the series, but still has that sweetness that I so adore about him…and REALLY love him being protective of Raphael and their relationship... Adored Raphael scaring Jace, I love Raphael speeches even more than Magnus’s (Maybe I just have a thing for speeches in general)
> 
> _Also, just FYI…with the whole Kevin/Jace thing_
> 
> _I usually REALLY don’t like the whole winning someone over/ware them down kinda thing…it usually really bugs me…but in this case I’m going to find a way to make it work. (Though it’ll probably be going for most of my next ‘season’)_
> 
> *Magnus’s scene made me tear up a bit, but I SO loved it.
> 
> So, I know this was kinda a Downer ending compared to most of mine but it just fits so perfectly and will set everything up for the next story…they are both so close to the edge…
> 
> All we need is that last _little_ push…
> 
> *&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
> 
> **_Kay, so…_ **
> 
> Here we are, the next one is THE one. The one we have been building to from the very first one…
> 
> I am honestly worried how long this is going to turn out. I literally have over 10 pages of notes, random ideas, and scenes.
> 
> I already know it’s gonna be more than 12 chapters, I think I am going to go for 15, seems like a good number for the season finale…
> 
> *****Last little thing to all of you who have read this series from start to finish, you really are amazing…
> 
> You have literally followed my random mind through 100 chapters _(I did the math…I didn’t count ch.8 on the first one cause it was just ideas for the series, and I counted the oneshot as a chapter, but yeah… **exactly 100** )_
> 
> I really can’t believe how this turned out…I love it SO much…I really had no idea what the heck I was doing when I started.
> 
> Thank you SO much…
> 
> I really hope you all loved this as much as I have (Also, FYI this will be the _Season finale, not Series_
> 
> It is still going to continue, I have tons of ideas…this was just the 1st of hopefully many.
> 
> Anyways…as I said I am SO ready to start this story…it’ll be probably within a week or so (two tops)
> 
> I already have the intro ready, figured I’d share…
> 
>  
> 
> **_ Alec (May Have) Did A Bad, Bad Thing _ **
> 
> When the worst criminal Alec has ever faced resurfaces, it’s all hands on deck.
> 
> Because of the scope of the case both the FBI and Drug Task Force come to assist in the investigation.
> 
> As if that isn’t enough there is also the somewhat important fact that he just realized his feelings for Magnus have grown **_far_** beyond a mere ‘crush’…
> 
> _He’s in love…_
> 
> _Totally and completely…_
> 
> With someone he hasn’t even so much as went on a date with…
> 
> So, yeah…there’s that…
> 
> Now he has to face the most important case of his career while working with;
> 
> The man he’s (Secretly) in love with, his old bigoted mentor, AND his arrogant, newly promoted Ex?
> 
> How will he face this?
> 
> Will he be able to cope? Or will he crack under the pressure?
> 
> When a twist leaves ALEC as the #1 suspect in a murder, even those closest to him begin to have doubts…
> 
> How will the team handle this?
> 
> Will their careers be able to survive this?
> 
> Will there friendship?
> 
> Will they?
> 
>  
> 
>  


End file.
